


Sonic Unveiled

by orphan_account



Category: Sonic the Hedgehog - Fandom
Genre: Alternate Universe, Deconstruction, F/M, Gen, Het, M/M, Slash, Sonic Unleashed, Storybook Series, WreckFic, genre: angst - Freeform, mild sexual themes
Language: English
Status: In-Progress
Published: 2011-01-15
Updated: 2011-01-25
Packaged: 2017-10-14 18:57:05
Rating: Mature
Warnings: Graphic Depictions Of Violence, Major Character Death
Chapters: 5
Words: 23,948
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/152397
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/orphan_account/pseuds/orphan_account
Summary: <blockquote class="userstuff">
              <p>Ten years after Sonic failed to stop Dark Gaia, the world is in ruins. The Eggman Empire and the Floating Islands are the only refuge against Dark Gaia's fragments and the lives of Sonic's friends are best described as pleasant messes, with Knuckles and Rouge ruling the Floating Island and Amy following in the late Professor Pickles' footsteps. When the world cracks again, Sonic emerges from the shadows to make up for his failure, assisted by a physically warped, amnesiac Chip and a number of his old friends.</p><p>Sonic and Chip travel from continent to continent, restoring emeralds and trying to sort out their own personal lives, Sonic's guilt and Chip's amnesia. They're aided along the way by various friends Sonic had, some of whom forgive him for his perceived failure and some of whom are out to show him just how badly he failed them. But along they way they must contend with the true nature of Emperor Eggman's plans for Project Reflection, strange Gaia creatures fighting by broad daylight, and enigmatic changes in people they know, love, and hate. Can Sonic master his own feelings, the restoration of the continents, and the defeat of Dark Gaia? Can he and Chip learn the truth about Gaia Force before it's too late?</p>
            </blockquote>





	1. Savannah Sympathy

**Author's Note:**

> First off, my apologies to Sega for the use of their characters, who have inspired me.
> 
> Secondly, I must note that this is a deconstructionist response to Sonic Unleashed. It is set in an alternate universe where Sonic lost, and it lets me look at some of the assumptions behind SU. If you don't like deconstruction, you may want to turn back.
> 
> Thirdly, the story is done and will be re-posted by chapter as I take one final look at everything. Not as much as I liked though; Bryan talked me into having a little more confidence in myself.
> 
> Spoiler Alerts:
> 
> Sonic Unleashed (necessary to understand the story)  
> Sonic and the Secret Rings  
> Sonic and the Black Knight  
> Sonic the Hedgehog 2006  
> Shadow the Hedgehog  
> Sonic Adventure 2  
> Sonic 3 & Knuckles
> 
> Content Warnings:
> 
> Deconstruction/Wreck Fic  
> Non-fatal, bloody violence  
> Fatal violence, no body shown  
> Mild sexual themes  
> Prominent and Background Het Pairings (ShadAmy, Sonamy, Knuxouge, Eggnilla, various Tails pairings)  
> Background Slash Pairing and moderate slash subtext (Vecpio, jokes about various male characters' sexuality)  
> Mild to Moderate Swearing. Shadow territory.
> 
> Apologies to:  
> Star Wars  
> Neon Genesis Evangelion  
> Wicked  
> Megamind  
> Power Rangers  
> Inception  
> TV Tropes
> 
> Many thanks to my betas:  
> * One who probably wishes to remain anonymous.  
> * Ben, the best boyfriend in the world  
> * Ryan Duran  
> * Bryan, the best cousin in the world

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> The world cracks open, and Sonic finds himself on top of a familiar amnesiac, albeit one who seems very changed. Meanwhile, the Eggman Empire mobilizes Sonic's former friends to try and finally fix the world. It's Knuckles' job to get find the truth about Sonic in Mazuri, but he has his own reasons to be there.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> I imagined the Temple for Mazuri/Apotos being centrally located between the two and accessible from both, if that helps. Also, it’s obvious at this point, I played the Wii version. Enjoy.

They were sleeping when it happened.

It was on opposite sides of the world, and the times were different. In some places it was a dark purple day, in others, the blackest night. But each of them was sleeping.

On the night side, the shaking woke up the Empress, and she woke up the Emperor to show him the moon, glowing out the window for the first time in a decade. The Island King woke his wife, who had fallen asleep at the desk pouring over a trade agreement with the Emperor, to show her the same. The Professor leapt up from bed at the beginning of the quake, leaving a groggy guard reaching for his wife's slender waist absently, oblivious. An Engineer staying in one part of the castle raced to the Princess' room and wrapped his arms and tail around her, babbling about how they were finally free, and maybe now he would come back.

* * *

On the day side, the quake brought the adventurer's attention to a dazzling sun in the high noon sky, and the sun brought to him a searing pain. He stood up and staggered out of the tree in which he'd been sleeping, stretching his arms to catch himself and finding they wouldn't stretch. By the time he reached the bottom he was curled into a ball, spinning and dizzy. He retched a few times before the shifting of his form brought him to rest on top of a tiny little creature with waxy wings.

He coughed and shuddered as he rolled over, trying to get away from the pressure on his back and the churning of his stomach.

"Where am I? What happened?" For a moment he thought it might all have been a bad dream, lying there in the long grass, sun beating on his suddenly naked face. He could see a gazelle considering him oddly. He glared at it and growled, "Haven't you ever seen a hedgehog before, lady?"

Apparently not one of his own kind, it leaped off wordlessly. He took stock of himself, looking at his thin arms, his naked, round hands, his solid blue body. He started to say, "So it was just a dream," until he looked at his feet, now in square red and white boots he'd never have worn before with little spikes on the toes. The cloak tied around his neck hung loose enough to fall over a shoulder and he could feel a stiffness in his joints he didn't recognize, even from before.

"What happened?"

The familiarity of the voice lead him to turn awkwardly, rapidly at first, until he remembered that like this his spine was no longer that flexible backward. As he cringed, he noted a little blue-violet creature lying in the circle in the grass, moaning.

"Chip? Long time, no see."

A pair of little green eyes glanced at him over the bent grass. "Chip? Who's that? He sounds tasty. Do I know you?"

"Not this again?"

"Not what again?" He climbed out of the little crater and floated into the air. His wings were blue now, like an insect's, veined and translucent, and a pair of little blue horns sat on his head instead of ears. The green orb once on his collar was replaced with a choker of gold and a pink gem, but Sonic found he still had his silver and green memento on his own wrist. He glanced at Chip's spiky horns, sharp claws, pointed toes, new prehensile, slithering tail of violet the same as the rest of him. Could it be? Outwardly this creature had little in common with the fluffy maroon and white, golden-eyed friend he made before.

"Did you lose your memory? Are you the same? Or are you even…" He picked the little guy up. "But I know your voice. You're my friend Chip. Light Gaia. And we've got work to do, and chocolate to eat. Come on."

"Ooh, Chocolate." Chip settled into his arms. "What's chocolate?"

* * *

She looked around the table as she sat down, spreading her papers around her. She pulled her computer from a pocket and began to type into it.

Knuckles watched Amy through the screen, admiringly. He had never had a romantic interest in her, but he was impressed at the woman she'd become… She sat there, long spines now free of their old headband, reading glasses sitting neatly on her nose. She now wore a collared vest with pockets over a slimmer version of her old red dress. He could scarcely believe the clingy, gaudy little girl she'd been the last time they had both seen Sonic. He asked himself, have I grown as much as she has? Am I ready for him to be back?

The different screens showed the others looking on. Princess Cream, wearing a modest clip instead of her tiara, clad in a warm pink sweater instead of her usual gowns, staring ahead blankly in disbelief, sat next to a nervous-looking fox in a labcoat and goggles. At their sides sat a trio: An old crocodile in a gold chain, a deep violet chameleon in spikes, and a snarling teenage bee in an aviator cap. On another monitor stood a portly fellow in a flowing robe that Knuckles had grown to love and hate, and at his side, a black, furry figure with sharp teeth and claws. Lastly was a single emerald hawk, wearing goggles and a white robe.

"Thank you all for coming, or tuning in," Amy noted, looking at the camera in front of her over her glasses. "For the record, I am Dr. Amy Rose. I'm a graduate of the University of Spagonia's Gaia studies program, and an associate at the University of Eggmanland, Station Square campus. I am also the Advisor to the Emperor on Gaia Studies. I'd like everyone else to introduce themselves, for the record."

The human spoke next, pushing his blue glasses up on his beakish nose. "I am Dr. Ivo J. Robotnik, Emperor of Eggmanland and the lead scientist on Project Reflection." He grinned oddly, and Knuckles waited a second for the rest, only to find nothing came.

"My name is Shadow. Shadow the Hedgehog. I am the ultimate life form," the snarling black beast noted cooly, "And my cousin the Emperor's chief guard. I am also the slayer of Black Doom and a… close genetic match to the late Sonic the Hedgehog. I'm here to answer questions about the effects of Dark Gaia on his body."

"Finally," Rouge muttered at Knuckles' side, "A purpose statement." He glanced at his wife and ran a claw through her long, white hair, shushing her quietly.

The rabbit spoke next. "My name is Cream the Rabbit, and I'm the Crown Princess of the Eggman Empire. I helped Sonic and Dr. Rose save the world in the past and I'm trained in diplomacy."Knuckles noticed that she left out all the combat training she'd received.

"I'm Dr. Miles Prower," her neighbor added, pushing up his goggles. "Chief Engineer of the Eggman Empire, inventor of the artificial chaos emerald, and transportation director of Project Reflection. I also saved the world with the others."

The crocodile cleared his throat. "I'm Vector, and this is Espio and Charmy. We are Team Chaotix, Imperial Inquisitors for the Eggman Empire. We were part of the defense against Metal Sonic along with just about everyone else here."

The last figure on the screen spoke, uncomfortable and shrill. "My name is Jet the Hawk. I participated in a couple of world-saving adventures and I'm now the Eggman Empire's ambassador to Shamar. I am also the current leader of the Babylon Rogues."

Then it was Knuckles' turn. "I'm King Knuckles, Guardian and ruler of the Kingdom of Angel Island. I served alongside Sonic and Eggman against many threats, and I now run one of our last natural sanctuaries against Dark Gaia infection."

"And I'm Rouge," his wife added, leaning into the camera so as to provide a glance down her low, black dress. "Princess Consort of Angel Island and Ambassador to the Eggman Empire. I was a former agent for the government of the United Federation , and am a world-class jewel thief. I acquired all the emeralds for this project and I'll be running the Island in Knuxie's stead when he goes off for his part of this."

There was a pause, and then Amy said. "Right." She cleared her throat. "We have called his meeting because of what happened. Ten years ago, a modified version of the Eclipse Cannon was activated, splitting the earth 's crust into seven pieces and unleashing a strange energy creature called Dark Gaia. Sonic the Hedgehog, who had attempted to stop this, along with an amnesiac fairy creature named Chip, travelled the world restoring chaos emeralds. The shattering of the planet had drained the emeralds, and Chip somehow possessed the ability to restore them in the temples. We believe that Chip was an incarnation of Light Gaia, Dark Gaia's opposite and opponent."

Knuckles jotted a note with a time stamp on a piece of paper, "Rose omits mention of Eggman's responsibility for incident."

"When each emerald was restored, the continent at which it was restored sunk back to its former elevation and rejoined the others. After the last emerald was restored, Chip, Sonic, Eggman, and Ergo the Robot descended into the Earth. Eggman was ejected by a great creature he identified as Dark Gaia along with Ergo, but Sonic never emerged. Anyone who sees this in our lifetimes knows what happened next, but I think it's important we explain for posterity. At this point, The world was enveloped in a violet darkness, and shortly thereafter, the possessions, infections, and mutations that had begun with the splitting of the continents intensified. Now an estimated 50% of the world's population are showing signs of having been changed by Dark Gaia Force."

"I'm an example of that," Shadow noted. "My mutation is identical to Sonic's, though, because I was on a mission far from a fault line, it took months to complete. The genetic material Sonic and I share via a common ancestor predisposes us to easy transformation, be it into super form, or this, what he dubbed the werehog."

"Note the sharpened teeth and claws, fur growth, blue-shift in coloration, and increased size. Also, stretching limbs," Eggman noted. Knuckles noticed a slight sneer on Amy's face at that as she flashed a set of genetic scans at the camera. He fought a chuckle, wondering whether those two would ever outright fight for attention.

Amy stood up, and whoever was manning the camera, probably Cubot, followed her around the table. "Six hours ago, an earthquake rocked the world, and satellite data indicates that the world has split again. This was predicted to happen within a window of this date plus or minus three years, based on the Gaia Manuscripts. It would seem that the mistake ten years prior to this date had no effect on the cycle. Reports are rolling in of avian and humanoid figures made of reddish light with green accents, or green with red accents, attacking near the fault lines. The purple cloud around the planet has disappeared, and now daylight and moonlight are at pre-Gaia levels."

"To restore the earth to its former glory," Eggman butted in, "We are sending an individual to each rebuilt Gaia temple on each of the seven land plates to restore an emerald. Upon restoration of the final emerald, we will send a combat force in case the defeat of Dark Gaia is necessary to restore the world."

"Each of you have your assignments. For security's sake, we are not revealing which of you are responsible for which Emerald—any Dark Gaia possessed individual might be compelled to stop you. I wish you all the best of luck." Amy picked up her folder. "I'm going to go prepare transport for the Mazuri team."

Knuckles ended the transmission, taking his cue. He found it amusing that they were trying so hard to obscure what was really happening, when Eggman was the one they had to deceive.

"Gliding, or parachuting, honey?" Rouge asked.

"Parachuting." He stood.

"Why don't you glide anymore?" She wrapped an arm around his waist, looking up at him with concern.

"You can fly. How do I beat that?" He smiled weakly, and she returned it in response to the lie.

"We'll be over the drop point in twenty minutes."

* * *

The sounds of city bustled around them as they sat in the café. Sonic glanced over his companion's head at the large, white bridge crossing over the straight between Mazuri and Apotos. He had seen it many times, but not in a decade had he seen it glisten in the noon sunlight. Nor had Chip. Feathery, almost, instead of fuzzy, with veiny blue wings and a blue-violet color. Horns for ears. Sonic couldn't shake his discomfort with Chip's changed appearance, but the voice was unmistakable.

"So, Sonic, you said… You said you could tell me about who I am?" Chip stuck a spoonful of ice cream in his mouth, leaving white residue. A brown chip was stuck to his cheek.

"That's right. Your real name is Light Gaia," Sonic murmured over a bite of chili dog. "But the time you lost your memory I named you Chip. You're… a force of good that lives inside our planet, and wakes up every so many years to fight Dark Gaia, who's evil. But… if you wake up too early, you lose your memory. Or at least, that's how you explained it to me last time."

Chip put down his spoon, looking down. "So… I exist… to save the world?"

"Pretty much. Hey, so do I." Sonic looked away, trying not to think about it.

Chip was silent for a moment, before finally, voice trembling, he asked, "What if I don't want to?"

Sonic started to answer, but then he felt his chest tighten. Did he really say that? He looked at Chip, who looked at him expectantly, sucking on a chunk of banana that was half hanging out his lips.

"Well?"

Sonic pushed his spoon into the cup, recoiling slightly when it didn't bend. He was already missing the werehog's strength. He pulled it up, but could not bring himself to shovel the ice cream into his mouth. The thought of it repulsed him, eating on top of such a horrendous possibility.

"I guess you'll just wait until you come around," Sonic assured, averting his eyes. He put the ice cream in his mouth and tried to ignore the shock in the pit of his stomach by focusing on the slick, vanilla sweetness. He reminded himself that his outrage at Chip's thought was the same as what everyone else had for him. He reminded himself that he didn't need to diminish himself by judging someone else.

"OK," Chip looked at a clock. "Can I come around after this Sundae?"

Sonic smiled, and breathed a quiet sigh of relief.

* * *

The sounds of metal on metal grated on Shadow's ears as he entered what was colloquially known as the throne room. It was more than an hour before his shift started, but Amy was en route to Spagonia now, he saw little point in staying home.

The Emperor's robe was draped over a chair, his crown sitting on a console. A pair of thin black legs stuck out from beneath the new suppressor model, a tiny tower of green metal , curving and curling around an exposed grating of gray steel. One of Prower's false emeralds sat in a case on the console next to the crown, waiting to be inserted. Shadow wondered what would become of the world with all these false emeralds if Sonic succeeded.

As Eggman lay there working, something in his mind, something like Black Doom's voice, whispered to him that he could kill Eggman now and end his cruel reign. Shadow had learned by now that this was a side effect of Dark Gaia infection. It reduced inhibitions and awakened one's darkest desires, at least in him. In Amy, it just seemed to make her want to dance, but she had a purer heart. Not for Shadow; he found he was too haunted, too angry, to fight it off completely. He couldn't always hold it back, and Eggman gave him a steady stream of executions to keep that in check. He should be grateful. Or he should…

"Shadow! Lend me a hand, will you?"

Try not to kill the bastard who did this to them in the first place.

He walked over and reached out, holding the bar encircled by Eggman's black-gloved hand. Eggman released it. It was quite heavy.

"This is the last suppressor we'll ever have to build, I hope. I'm moving our attention to Reflection after this."

Shadow blinked. "But the point of Reflection is to get us away from Gaia, from Earth. If we beat Dark Gaia, we won't need to leave."

Eggman slid out from beneath the machine. "You can let go now, Shadow. We can't just take for granted that we're going to win, but if we do, a lunar colony will still have benefits to humanity. Gaia suppressors will not. What's a few month's pause in production?"

"That's a gamble."

"Shadow, I'm disappointed in your lack of faith."

"We live in a world where what's bad gets worse, not better." Shadow finally let go of the bar. It stayed still. "If I didn't know you better, cousin, I would think there were another reason you wanted us on the moon. Or what's left of it." Shadow grinned.

"Let's not go reminding each other of our mistakes, Shadow. We haven't got time to spend the night crying our sorrows away." Eggman looked at him, smiling sadly, looking at him with blue eyes that reminded him so much of Maria. Remembering her face, remembering her death, brought a swelling of rage into Shadow's face, his mouth, his claws. Eggman frowned and motioned toward a door, and Shadow knew what to do.

* * *

It was nightfall by the time they reached the jungle. Chip had chattered away all day, asking about this and that. Sonic answered patiently, thoroughly, eyes always forward. Sonic found himself unwilling to see a face he barely recognized. He wondered if that's what Tails and Amy had thought of him when he had changed into the werehog.

Suddenly, as the last traces of sunlight disappeared on the horizon, Sonic's head began to spin. He leaned on a tree.

"Sonic, what's wrong?" Chip's voice cracked.

"I… don't be afraid, Chip," he panted as the pain washed down his spine, through his bones. "I'm still… ugh. I'm still me."

"Sonic? What are you talking about?"

He groaned as the sunset finished and the change finally washed over him. He could feel his hands growing, claws appearing, fur erupting. His teeth grew in his mouth, stabbing his lips as he clenched his jaw. He reached out and put his weight on his arms, willing them not to bend, standing once more on all fours.

"What just happened?" Chip flew over to him, shaking a little in the air, voice quavering. "You were little and spiny and now you're all fuzzy and big and sharp!"

"I think... that day and night mean I change again. I'm possessed by Dark Gaia, I have been for ten years. Most people are now, a little. It makes us change, effects our emotions. Some people don't fight it as well as me, and act weird, but me, I just change. If we can stop Dark Gaia, I'll go back to being the hedgehog, full time. If not, I'm stuck like this forever." Sonic sighed. "Until then, I guess I'll change back and forth with the sun."

Chip flew up to his shoulder. "But you want to be the hedgehog, right?"

"More than anything." He considered, putting his claw on his chin. "Well, almost anything. I guess I'd rather have my old life back."

"What was your old life like?"

Sonic sat down on a fallen log, glancing at Chip, who sat on his leg. He watched with wide green eyes, tracing every moment of Sonic's lips and brow, like a little child, the way Tails used to look at him.

"I always said I was just a guy who loves adventure. I guess I wasn't just anything. I was the fastest thing alive." Sonic grinned, baring his pointy teeth. "I was a hero. I saved the world countless times, it was basically my job." He pulled out a dazzling yellow gem that sparkled in the hazy moonlight. It made Chip recoil. "This is a fake chaos emerald. They're a massively important power source. I used to use the real ones, all seven, to become Super Sonic. I was even stronger like that, almost invincible. I stopped Eggman countless times, and Chaos, and Metal Sonic…"

"So you miss fighting?"

"A little." Sonic wrung his hands. "What I really miss, though, is knowing that if something happened, I could take it. Any threat, I could beat. Even the ones I couldn't, well, Shadow could. Like Black Doom. Shadow took me out and then went after him all by himself! It was embarrassing, but I knew he'd never let us down."

Chip flew up to his face, reaching out to touch it with a tiny paw. "Why can't you take it now?"

"Dark Gaia beat us years ago, Chip. You, and me." Sonic picked him up and held him up high. "I couldn't stop him; I fainted. If I can stop him, change myself back, then I handled it after all, even if it took ten years."

Chip thought for a second, frowning. "Gee, Sonic, I'm sorry."

"What for?"

"I'm sorry that you feel bad." Chip flew down to Sonic's chest and nestled into his fur.

Sonic wrapped an arm around Chip.

"It's not your fault, buddy. Not mine either."

* * *

They gathered before sunrise at the top of the tower.

At one time, Miles, thought, this was the highest tower in the United Federation. He glanced over the edge of the building, down at the warped cityscape below. What was once gray was now orange and yellow, brought to life in garish color. This was once Empire City, he thought to himself, but now, it is East Ivopolis.

He shuddered beneath his emerald cloak. His neighbor asked, "Are you all right?" and he found himself wondering if that was the old GUN Commander's perpetually stuffed-up voice he heard.

Miles nodded. "Just a chill," he said. "Not used to the wind up here." He glanced up at the obviously human figure next to him, clad in a thick dark green cloak like his own. After all, they were supposed to be anonymous. You never knew when Dark Gaia was lurking, hitchhiking with someone. Tails suspected the real reason was that Eggman was afraid people were plotting against him, but he'd never voice that concern. It would feed into the idea, which was actually quite true.

A figure in an identical cloak made his way up to a podium the top of the roof; there was no secret who lead this fellowship. Their portly, erudite leader cleared his throat and spoke.

"Children of Gaia, Legion of Light, welcome. We are gathered here this morning to celebrate the first sunrise in ten years." Cheers began as he continued. "We also celebrate the return of our savior, Light Gaia!"

Screams of joy erupted from the crowd. Tails mused that this one wouldn't be so secret, but then he realized some of the screaming was coming from him. What was he so excited about?

A white-gloved hand shot into the air, then another, pushing down as if to lower the crowd's volume. Finally, he announced, "But the long night is not over." A sober silence fell over the crowd. "Now that we have our leader, we must e ready to be the Soldiers of Light, on the front lines in the fight against the Abomination, Dark Gaia. We must ensure Light Gaia's Ultimate Supremecy. His Imperial Majesty has given us permission to oversee the means to our salvation."

Miles boggled. What on earth was he talking about? Now that the earth was cracked open, the team would go restore the emeralds and continents and then attack Dark Gaia directly. That was the plan. If Sonic were still alive and involved, so be it, though Miles couldn't deny his excitement at the idea. But… what would the Bearers of Gaia do?

"We have a secret weapon against Dark Gaia, one not dreamed of by our ancestral Soldiers of Light. The Moon. Always it has hung there, a reminder of our savior even in the darkest of nights. But now it is our weapon."

Tails took a step back, almost swooning. He had been working with Eggman on Reflection so long, he had never realized its true purpose. He thought the space ship was to escape Dark Gaia, not… whatever this was. The not-GUN Commander righted him, murmuring in a soothing tone, "We haven't been chosen by mistake. Be strong, my Brother."

From the podium the leader pulled folders of pale green. "The Time has come for some of us to shed our anonymity, for Dark Gaia can no longer take us anew. Some of you are already doing our Lord's work, and for those of you who have not, I have found you tasks."

Miles began to back out of the crowd.

"Those of you already working on the Empire's Project Reflection should leave now." Tails looked to the leader and locked his gaze with teal, unspectacled eyes beneath the speaker's green hood. "But know that our true plans must still stay secret, for Light Gaia to reveal to the unready and the unworthy. Who knows which of Dark Gaia's agents may be among us, waiting to strike?"

As Tails left, he found himself wondering what the moon could do about Dark Gaia… and why Eggman's eyes suddenly looked so green.

* * *

"Why hello there… Ack!"

It was morning, and Sonic was annoyed. He looked behind him, searching for Chip. He could only assume, by that little exchange, that Chip was bugging the animals again. Under the light of the searing Mazuri sun, however, he could see Chip vigorously flying away from a large beetle. At first, Sonic dismissed it, but then he noticed that the beetle was nearly the same size as Chip. It seemed to glow green, even in the golden sunlight, a dazzling gem among the tall, tan grasses.

"Impossible!" he gasped.

"Get it away from me!" Chip pleaded.

Sonic leaped into it, curling into a ball, and knocking it from the air. It disintegrated as it landed in a burst of green light.

"What… what was that thing?" Chip more exclaimed than asked. He flew into Sonic's chest, cold nose pressed against bare skin. Sonic let a soft cough at the impact, the wind knocked out of him, and took a second to catch his breath.

"It seemed like a Dark Gaia monster." Sonic reached down and picked up a tiny, dead beetle where it would have landed. "But it's broad daylight? I thought Dark Gaia is weaker during the day, you even told me that. How can that be?"

"I don't know," Chip noted. "Maybe Dark Gaia is getting stronger."

"And I noticed a lot of times… the creatures die if you beat the Dark Gaia out of them." Sonic considered the beetle, holding it high for Chip to see.

"I think the keyword there is 'beating,' Sonic." Chip looked up with something like annoyance, one eyebrow raised and the other wrinkled in.

"You don't hit a bug that hard in flight… and… and, when we were underground, when Dark Gaia siphoned itself out of me, I felt tired. I was so… drained. That's…"

"So what? You… you think that if we stop Dark Gaia, you'll die?"

Sonic looked up at the clouds, trying to hide the fear in his eyes. "I hope it doesn't come to that, Chip. No matter how bad it is, I still like existing."

"Would you give anything to stay alive?" Chip flew up to look Sonic in the eyes, his own face seeming to glow with curiosity.

"No, not at all. I'd give anything to go back to living."

* * *

They kept on through the day and night, Chip riding in Sonic's rubbery arms. Sonic held him close, enjoying the touch of another being. Chip didn't—couldn't—judge him for his failure, since one, he didn't remember it, and two, it was a failure he shared. Still, Sonic felt that Chip did judge him. That question about staying alive—was it an accusation of cowardice, or an unintentional trigger for Sonic's own paranoia?

"I must be losin' it," he muttered.

"What?"

"I thought I heard something," Sonic lied.

"It's a forest. Oh, oh, maybe it's a lion! Or a tiger. Or even a hyena!"

Sonic shuddered involuntarily at the thought. "You… remember what they are?"

"Sort of. Names are coming back to me, for things. Like spoons and the moon."

"That's good," Sonic cooed comfortingly, reminding himself that the last time they'd met, Chip had instantly dubbed him "Mr. Monster Guy."

"If a big scary lion tries to eat me… Sonic, would you save me?"

"Of course." He left out, "If I can."

Chip pressed himself closer to Sonic's fluffy chest. "And if Dark Gaia tries to get me?"

"I'll do my best."

"What if… what if you can't?"

In the back of Sonic's mind, something like a voice told him to drop Chip. Drop chip, give him a solid punt, and run away. He knew that on some level it was Dark Gaia wheedling at him, but he also worried, and knew, that it was the voice of his own heart; Dark Gaia couldn't create new resentment, just fuel what was already there. He wanted to say to Chip, Look at what I've given up for you, for the whole world! Isn't that enough? But he could almost hear Chip soothing him, reminding him that he's only got to answer to himself.

No, he decided. That's not Chip. That was Shadow's voice. Or Amy's.

So Sonic replied, "Then I'm sorry. But I'll do my best."

"Did you do your best last time?" Chip's eyes gleamed in the starlight, innocent.

"Yes," Sonic answered instantly, despite the nagging guilt, the weight in his heart.

"Practice makes perfect," Chip mused.

Sonic imagined himself a football star.

His fantasy was interrupted by a real tackle, a force of heat pushing him into the cool, damp ground. He landed chest first, and Chip went flying. The impact stole his breath, but then he gasped and forced himself over beneath the surprisingly light weight on him.

He realized as soon as his eyes faced the sky that he was in trouble, as a blood red shining moon of fingers collided with his face. He felt something sharp pierce his forehead.

Couldn't be.

"Leave him alone!" Chip cried from afar.

As the world came back into focus, Sonic saw a figure of red over him, long red dreadlocks like spikes barely tickling Sonic's face, and framing a smile. Out of a flowing black robe lined with brightly patterned print stuck an arm, extended to Sonic, spike knuckled and claw-like hand offered at Sonic's chest, awaiting his claw.

"That's for not telling us you were ok, you jerk!"

He was smiling a fang-toothed grin.

"Knucklehead."

Sonic took the hand in his claw and let Knuckles pull him up, the red figure framed in moonlight through a purple Gaia haze. Sonic felt his eyes begin to dry and burn.

"We've been worried."

"I know… but I know when I'm not wanted."

Knuckles reached up and smacked Sonic across the face with the inside of his hand. In response, Chip flew over and ineffectually tried to pull Knuckles' hand away, grunting in the air as his wings beat furiously.

"I don't want to be…"

"Guilty. You don't want to have to look at us and feel guilty. Why do you think I used to hide on that island?"

Sonic considered returning the swat. "You still hide on that island."

"It's not hiding if you protect people there."

"I don't want pity."

"Will you take a hug?"

Sonic blinked, surprised to hear Knuckles say something like that. Still, starved for contact, he spread his arms wide, ready to take Knuckles in to his chest and soothe him. Knuckles, however, reached over them, pulling Sonic's shoulders down to his level. He patted Sonic lightly on the back, otherwise still. Sonic fought tears, noticing something he'd never felt before. He wondered if this was what it felt like to have a dad, and then chided himself. Knuckles was his age.

"I have so much to tell you, Sonic." There was desperation in the voice, but also an eerie calm. "And half of it can't be said in the temples or the villages. Eggman has them bugged. We're going to have you impersonate Shadow in the village, since you're wearing his boots and cloak anyway. That's how I knew you were alive, actually. Rouge got a copy of Shadow's expense reports."

* * *

The village went quiet in the torchlight—Knuckles insisted on night. Before they entered, Sonic pulled up his hood.

"You think I can pass for Shadow?"

"You did before, when he stole the Chaos emerald."

Sonic glanced at Knuckles, irritated. "Why not unveil myself? You said I make people worry."

"Because I don't trust Eggman, that's why."

Knuckles sat in the tree, looking through binoculars at the village near the old temple. How could Knuckles be so confident, so…

"You? Mr. Gullible, 'He's my friend,' not trusting Eggman? Where's Blaze and Marine, because this is like another world."

Knuckles glided down. Sonic noticed he wavered in the air. "There was no reason for him to break the world open early. All he wanted was power. He got you killed, or so we thought, but then he acts like his Gaia Engines and Gaia Suppressors are our savior." Knuckles looked up at the blurry stars and spat. "I realized that he took you away from me, even if you weren't dead. He betrayed me, hurt me, lied to me all those times and then finally he robbed me of the one person who told me better. You were always right about that lying creep."

"I don't like this Eggman guy," Chip quipped, uselessly.

Sonic crossed his arms. "So why are you his ally? Why the whole sister cities thing, and ambassadors..."

Knuckles walked over and looked Sonic in the eye. "I'm using him like he used me. Through him, I was able to find you, shelter you, hide you from his eyes." Then Knuckles averted his eyes. "Besides, I'm one of them. The infectees. I need Gaia suppressors so I don't turn into what you are. They only work so well; even surrounded by them Shadow's a werehog. But between the protective effects of the Island and the suppressors I might be myself for another ten years."

"I hope it doesn't come to that. I… if I have help this time, maybe I can save us."

"You think you didn't have help before?" Knuckles scoffed, turning away. "Where do you think we were?"

"I never liked any of the answers I came up with." Sonic answered, defensively, offended.

"We were in the trenches in Empire City, trying to stop Eggman from installing the machines and an empire. All of us, even Cream. Shadow guarded the President until he got sick, and then Omega took over. I almost lost Rouge in a raid on the Dark Gaia Cauldron to clear the way for you, because we knew you were coming."

"I had no idea."

Knuckles crossed his arms. "We would have leaped into the Earth for you if we'd known."

* * *

As he was seated carefully, his crimson companion pulled a small tablet and a piece of paper from his black robe and presented it to the woman.

"Your Highness," she squeaked in her accent, "This is not necessary. We are all allies of Eggmanland and Angel Island, and what I am to tell you is no secret anymore. The Emperor's decree is just formality."

"I don't think so." Knuckles shook his head. "As you can see in the third section here, by this decree you are ordered to secrecy about this encounter. You are not permitted by the Republic of Mazuri to reveal to anyone that we were here."

"Very well, " she noted with annoyance.

Knuckles sat easily, crossing his ankle over his knee and leaning back in the chair. "We need you to tell us everything about your people's Land Magic—and how it relates to Light and Dark Gaia. The fate of the world is at stake, but you already know that, and I don't want to waste your time with any more… 'formalities.'"

"Specifically," Sonic ordered in his best Shadow voice, "We need to know how to restore the planet to its previous state." He stopped, and added an insecure, "Damn it," which earned him a hearty glare from Knuckles.

"How did the balance turn before? Light and Dark fight within the land—last time, Dark won."

Knuckles leaned forward. "How do we make sure Light wins?"

"Be its champion, Highness." She leaned back in her chair, avoiding Sonic's glance. "Since its last failed."

Sonic felt dizzy, and said nothing.

"To stop Dark Gaia," she noted, standing, " you need a champion who will not fail. Someone with the skill and strength of charact-"

Knuckles crossed his arms. "Lady, if you think Sonic didn't have strength of character, then you have no idea who he really was."

"I met him."

"I fought alongside him."

"He always saved us before," she hissed.

"And where were you?" Sonic barked suddenly, standing and doing his best Shadow growl. "We cleared the path to the last temple. We sabotaged the robots trying to stop him. MY WIFE traveled all over the world caring for him! And you gave him a couple words of advice. You did all you could, and it wasn't enough. So did he. I won't let you slander the only man to defeat me!"

Knuckles lip twisted up in a slight smirk, impressed.

The woman was quiet a while. Finally, she said quietly. "I… I'm sorry, Lord Shadow. I thought that you were him. But, I guess not. I thought that he was still alive, and he gave up. But if he died for us… then I guess that this is our fate."

"Do you treat all the dead and wounded soldiers who lost a war that way?" Sonic demanded, feeling the blood rush to his cheeks.

"No," she answered, looking down.

"What do you get out of guilt, except the approval of Dark Gaia in the back of your head?" He snarked. "Give me the God damned tablet so we can be on our way."

"You haven't passed my test!"

"You haven't got the right to test me. Not with a heart full of hate."

Knuckles stood back up. "Shadow. That's enough."

"We came here from Apotos!" Sonic roared. "We fought Dark Gaia creatures in broad daylight! This is the only chance we have in ten thousand some years to save our people! If your test means I have to let you desecrate a real hero, forget it. I'll tear the Temple to pieces to get to the Shrine."

She grabbed a staff from the wall, shining ominously in the green light. "Threats do nothing!"

"Blame does nothing! Blame just wastes time! Go grab yourself a mountain of handkerchiefs and cry 'cause Sonic wasn't there, but don't waste the world on your anger." Sonic lifted his hood slightly, revealing his coloration to her. She gasped. "I swear. I swear on the grave of Sonic the Hedgehog that despite my face, my heart is pure. I will stop Dark Gaia, or die trying."

"Die trying? As Sonic did last time?"

Sonic pulled up his cloak to the knees, above the top of Shadow's old boots. He couldn't literally see his scars, but as the woman gagged appreciatively he could see the horrid white swirls of burned tissue clearly in his mind's eye.

"Unless some idiot saves me. Then I'll just have to wait ten thousand years and try again."

* * *

Once they were clear of the village and Chip had emerged from inside Sonic's cloak, Knuckles gave him a shove.

"What were you doing, blowing your cover like that?" He demanded.

"We need those tablets, and I'm not just gonna take 'em from her!" Sonic pleaded. "And no, we can't take the Temples apart, that's just something Shad would say. Chip needs them to fight Dark Gaia."

"I do?" the fairy asked.

He was ignored, as Knuckles crossed his arms and put a fist to his chin. "So Amy was right…"

Sonic raised an eyebrow. "What?"

His old friend laughed. "When the temples disappeared, Amy thought that might b for that. A… giant… temple… mech."

"Amy came up with that?" Sonic chuckled. His eyes bugged out of his head.

"I know!" was Knuckles' incredulous response.

"I would have expected that—"

"—From Tails or Eggman!"

The duo collapsed in laughter on top of each other, leaving Chip laughing politely in the air above them. After a moment, Knuckles propped himself up and asked. "So what exactly are these tablets?"

"They're the keys to the Temples." Sonic sat up and pulled out the shining half-tablet from his cloak. "This is the first half. The other half I'll probably find in Apotos."

"We'll find it."

"Knuckles…" Sonic stood up, and pulled his friend to his feet. "If I fail, every day you spend on the island, or around the suppressors in Eggmanland, is more time, right? Before you're like me?"

"I missed the party last time." Knuckles rubbed the back of his knuckles, kneading at inflamed joints.

"So find a reason to be in Eggmanland when I do the last Emerald. That's where I hope to go."

"He'll know you're coming."

Sonic looked to the east, where the sun had begun to rise. "If he really has changed, he'll roll out the red carpet to help me. If he hasn't, I want him overconfident, thinking he's ready for me."

Knuckles shook his head. "What if he really is ready for you?"

"I'll have you guys." Sonic flashed a fanged grin.

"He'll expect that."

"Never worked for him before."

"Things change, Sonic," Chip noted.

"Not as much as you'd think."

Knuckles put a hand on Sonic's shoulder. "I'm going to feign Gaia Sickness to get to a doctor in Eggmanland. I'll send Rouge to assist you in Apotos; Amy is waiting for you in Spagonia, and there are others around. Take this." He grabbed Sonic's hand and placed in it a dull, gray gem.

"It'll be Red again, soon," Sonic promised, gripping it tight.

"I hope you'll be gold by the end of this."


	2. Windmill Fighting

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Sonic and Chip come looking for the temple in Apotos, and meet Rouge there. She's not as sympathetic as her husband, but she's the least of the party's worries as strange gaia creatures attack in broad daylight

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Author's Note: The way I envisioned the Apotos/Mazuri temple is that there's one temple on the border, which can be reached from either side, which is more appropriate depending on political climates. Plus I just wanted to mix it up a little bit, stations of the plot and all that. Also, if it isn't apparent by now, I played the Wii version of the game.

“Remember that guy, Chip? He reminds me of Knuckles.”  
Chip looked at the ice cream vendor, who was scooping ice cream in the shadow of a white tower. “Nope.”  
“Or this city?” Sonic swung his hand wide, motioning to the white walls covered in vines.  
“I don’t remember anything. Do you think I ever will?”  
“I’m sure of it.” He smiled under the cloak, lips visible to Chip as he grabbed his ice cream.  
Sonic ordered another sundae, this one with extra banana. Chip notice him wrinkle his nose a little as he received his bowl. He wondered how Sonic could not like ice cream! Sonic had sharp teeth, at least some times, and sharp teeth meant they eat animals, and didn’t Sonic like to eat animal stuff? And Ice Cream came from animals, and it was sweet and wet and special…  
“Don’t you like ice cream, Sonic?”  
Sonic looked at him, shocked, green eyes gleaming in the shade of his hood. After a moment, he answered, sitting down at the café table. “Sure I do, Chip. I just don’t feel much like eating right now.”  
“Aww! Why not?”  
Sonic sighed. “I don’t know. I’m just nervous, I guess, about all this. I’ve spent almost half my life waiting to make things right. Now it’s time… and… so many people are pointing fingers in the wrong direction. But Knuckles forgives me… it’s all so complicated. I’m so complicated.”  
“But you should be happy, right?”  
“I still feel guilty.”  
“Why?”  
Sonic stuck some ice cream in his mouth and seemed almost to fight a gag. “Because I made a mistake. I went the wrong way, jumped the gun, and screwed up. If I’d gone the right direction when I chaos controlled years ago, I could have taken out Dark Gaia… I think. I let everyone down, and I let you down.”  
Chip frowned. “But you did your very best! I… I don’t blame you!” Chip flew up to sit on his shoulder. “You did your very best and I’m not sad you lost to Dark Gaia at all except that it hurts you! You’re my friend and you take care of me, and I just want you to be happy.”  
There was a long pause.  
“Really?”  
“Really.”  
Sonic’s shoulders sagged with relief. “And the truth is… my stomach always goes kind of crazy when I first start changing back and forth. It’s not fun, let me tell you, and I guess feeling wonky for a week or two is par for the course. Gaia Sickness, they’re callin’ it now.”  
“How can I help?”  
“Think you can eat another ice cream while I go get me a cup of soup?”  
A hand slid in from behind them and grabbed Sonic’s spoon. “Why don’t I take this as payment for your passage into the temple? That way it won’t go to the little guy’s hips.”  
Chip craned his neck to look past Sonic, into a deep tan valley, and grinned. “You must be Rouge. I think I like you.”  
“Eyes up here, fairy boy.”

* * *

Sonic looked down across the rolling field, and sighed. He had last seen it ten years before in stony moonlight, everything washed with an almost ethereal glow. He had learned quickly that that strange beauty in the light was an artifact of Gaia force, one decidedly less lovely when it blocked all light from the moon.  
Now, though, he beheld the same path to the ruins in sunlight, harsh in the blue November sun and crumbling more than ever. Particularly gorgeous pillars and walls were torn down, ramsacked, no doubt sitting in some infected human’s basement as a testament to both his dissatisfaction and infection. The grass was a strange dull green, darkened by ten years of pale, purple sunlight.   
A delicate hand reached around to rest on his shoulder and pull him closer gently. “It’s going to be fine. You just have to get through it.” She purred.  
“What is it with everyone playing parent with me?” Sonic shrugged out of the hug and walked on, his cloak flapping in the light breeze.   
Rouge picked up her pace to catch up with him. She looked older, though not as much as Sonic expected, not near as much as most of the others did. Her hair was longer now, tied back in a long braid on her bare back; her skin was paler, no doubt due to the lack of sunlight to maintain her tan. She was beautiful, especially now that she was more covered up. She wore a tight violet tunic with a plunging neckline and back over that black bodysuit she always favored now, and the trim on her gloves and boots, as well as the latters’ new laces, were violet to match. The only artifacts he could see of her new title were a large gold necklace hanging low in her cleavage and a gemstone he had never seen before on a ring on her finger.  
She glanced over at him. “He’s really grown, hasn’t he?”  
“More than I have.”  
Rouge smiled. “I was lucky to see that side of him early. He saved me from falling—even though I could have caught myself. I won’t say losing you was the best thing that ever happened to him, because he misses you every day. But it made him appreciate who you were, and it helped him understand who he is.”  
Sonic scoffed. “Who I was?”  
“You’re hardly the same boy who fought the monsters.” She kicked a rock out of her path.  
“I don’t think I’ve changed that much. Not for the better, at least.”  
Rouge stopped, and, with a roll of his eyes, he turned to face her. Chip bumped softly into his back.  
“What snapped down there?” She asked him, furrowing her brow. “What went wrong in your head that kept you from winning?”  
He crossed his arms, glaring.  
“I know you didn’t run away, but what the Hell, Sonic?”  
He closed his eyes… and started walking toward the cliff.  
With a cry of indignation, she followed him. He paused, waiting until she caught up, and then shoved her, sending her falling toward the ocean below.  
Rouge screamed, flapping her wings and angling herself to fly upward, but a fierce wind pushed her down. He could just see the look of utter shock on her face, not at being shoved, but at being pushed down by the wind so hard her wings couldn’t fight it. He rolled his eyes again and then closed them, grabbing the emerald between her breasts with his mind and pulling it through the cosmic foam into his arms, her with it. She was still screaming, and he pulled her closer, resting a chin on her forehead.   
“Shh. I had you the whole time. You’re safe.”  
She reached up and punched him, hard, in the jaw, and instinctively he dropped her.   
“What is wrong with you! I could have died!”  
“I had you. But I wanted you to see what it felt like.” He looked into her eyes, fighting tears.   
“How could that be what it felt like?”  
“I had to get close to Dark Gaia and the only way I could was by using Chaos Control to fly. You have to… find the right updrafts to keep going up, in a way. I hit a down draft by mistake and went plummeting into the magma. I woke up next to a windmill,” he pointed, “about twenty miles that way, with healed burns on my leg and no idea where I was.”  
“So you screwed up.”  
“I thought I could do it. I was sure I could do it. But it didn’t work out. Someone, I think Chip, saved me. But I was seconds away from death.” He sat down next to her.  
“I thought I could do it,” she echoed, and he raised his eyebrow. She sat up and continued, looking down. “When Shadow first came around. I was trying to investigate him, and to do that I had to get in with Eggman. I had to steal the Chaos Emeralds out of the GUN Vault on Prison Island to win his trust. I said I could do it in five minutes. But I didn’t think there’d be an armed Mech. I defeated Flying Dog, but there were only seconds left before Eggman blew up the island.”  
“And Shadow chaos controlled in to save you.”  
She nodded.  
“So you know what it’s like to fail, when you shouldn’t fail, because you’re the best.”  
Rouge looked away.  
“And it’s fair enough for you to judge me in your heart, because it’s your life that’s screwed up because I failed.” Sonic stood up, looking down at her. “But I want you to know something, Rouge. I wasn’t getting paid your tax dollars to save the world. No one hired me. I did it because I wanted to, and I did my best. I did way more than any law or any government asked me to. You have no right to berate me for it; keep your backseat demon-fighting to yourself.”  
Sonic started walking toward the shrine, and Rouge quickly scrambled to her feet to follow. Chip flew up to match pace with him and nodded at him, as if to offer his backing. In response, Sonic took Chip and put him on a shoulder.

* * *

She pulled on the lever to turn on the elevator, and after a few moments, it gave, setting them free.  
“First time I came through here,” he noted, standing, “I got ambushed by Dark Gaia creatures. “  
Rouge crossed her arms. “It’s broad daylight, Sonic.”  
“But in Mazuri Chip and I fought one in the daytime. A green glowing beetle.”  
Rouge stared at him, her jaw dropping, exposing her perfect little fangs. “But Dark Gaia is only active at night.”  
“Not anymore. Actually, now that I think of it I haven’t seen too many Dark Gaia creatures at night.”  
“What are you guys waiting for?” Chip chirped. “It’s just a temple! Let’s go!” Chip dropped down into the elevator shaft… and promptly screamed.  
Sonic rolled his eyes and hopped down, landing in a crouch and surveying the situation. Chip was running away from what appeared to be a glowing green cat, dodging and weaving behind beautiful marble pillars. Another, similar creature ran over to Sonic and sunk its teeth into his foot.  
Sonic shouted and kicked it away as Rouge dropped down the shaft. She flew toward a glowing beetle hovering nearby and spun in the air, hitting it with her heel. Chip slapped ineffectually at the green cat following him, and Sonic reached out to grab it, but found his arms coming a few body lengths short.  
“You aren’t the werehog!” Rouge shouted, divebombing the creature chasing Chip.  
“Thanks for the reminder,” Sonic growled, jumping into another beetle.  
Rouge threw the Gaia Cat off the balcony, and Sonic spun into another beetle that landed on the ground. It was then that what appeared to be a giant bear-like creature of white light appeared from behind a pillar.  
The two larger furries swore, while Chip hid under a crate. The creature simply charged for the crate, roaring.   
“It’s zeroing in on Chip?” Sonic pondered.  
Rouge picked up a crate and flew over toward the bear, dropping it on the creature. Sonic tried to do the same, only to find his strength lacking. Instead, he leapt on top of the crate and used the height to get a headshot on the bear. He glanced off and landed nearby, and stopped to consider it as it tried to find Chip underneath the crate. It was white and tall, with strange curly ears and tiny, undersized arms, as opposed to the oversized hands of the Dark Gaia soldiers. It was reeling a bit, holding Chip’s crate with one hand as it rubbed its neck.   
“Let’s hit it at the same time!” Rouge called.  
Sonic nodded and started spinning in place. Rouge cried out, and he let go, driving himself into it. It faded away in a burst of green light. The crate toppled to the ground, spinning, and landed Chip-side up.  
“Chip. When we’re talking about how dangerous something probably is, don’t just charge in, ok?” Sonic scolded.  
“Yes sir!” was the sheepish response.

* * *

As the sun began to set, he sat down on a stony ledge, groaning.  
“What is it?” Rouge asked, turning to him.  
“I need a minute,” he complained.  
“Why? What’s wrong?” She walked over, cocking her head to the side.  
“He’s changing,” Chip informed her.  
Sonic looked up at her. “After the fight with Dark Gaia, I woke up werehog. I started changing back to hedgehog in the day, and then werehog at night when the moon came back.” He started to explain, but Rouge held up a hand.  
“I remember when Shadow got sick. The changing is hard. I had a little case before we got some dampeners for the Island. I don’t know what it is about you and Shadow that’s different, but most of us don’t change that much.” Rouge looked up, pondering. “I wonder why you two are different?”  
“But any changes to you guys might be permanent.”  
“All the more reason to get this under wraps as soon as possible.” Rouge looked at Sonic. “You get some rest. I’ll go gather something for a fire. I’ve got some camping rations; hope you can cook.” She grinned.   
“I’m sure I can whip up something.”  
Rouge flew off, and Sonic sighed.  
“I like her. She’s mean but… she’s pretty.”  
Sonic laughed. “Chip, I had no idea you were interested in girls.”  
“What? Why wouldn’t I be?”  
He smiled and lay back on the ground. “Last time you only seemed to be interested in two things: Chocolate, and me.”  
Chip sat down on Sonic’s stomach. “Maybe I’m different this time.”  
Sonic frowned and tried to ignore the weight. “That was funny, how she was talking about that time people mistook me for Shadow, wasn’t it?”  
“I don’t remember Shadow, so I can’t say… do you guys really look that close?”  
“Yeah.” Sonic chuckled, making Chip move. “Everyone mistook us for one another—even Amy, who thought she was in love with me. Makes me wonder how similar we are. He even married Amy.”  
“Did you like Amy?”  
“I guess. I mean, she was cute, and she was a good hero, but she was so clingy that I didn’t want anything to do with it. She’d probably be ok now, but I’d never make a move on Shad’s girl.”  
“Why not?” Chip leaned over, lying on his own stomach.  
“It’s wrong. Especially after all Shadow’s done to help me hide myself.” Sonic thought for a minute. “You know. I read a book once… about a guy who wanted to get rid of all the evil in his heart. So he did something that made him turn into this weird monster that looked like a different person, with no inhibitions. …And actually, I think that in the book he used to get really sick to his stomach when he changed. Eventually he lost control of changing and his good and evil started to blend together. Then he died.”  
Chip blinked, confused.  
“I think whoever wrote that book… knew about this somehow. I read in the author’s notes that it came to him in a dream.”  
“You think someone put it in his dreams?”  
“Yeah.”  
“What’s that have to do with you and Shadow?”  
“You’d think a guy like me would have all these demons, but I really don’t. But I wonder how Shad is doing. He’s been hurt a lot, has a lot of anger. ..And I wonder, Chip. If you’re as nice as you are, what’s going through Dark Gaia’s head right now?”  
Chip thought about that for a moment, and sat back up on Sonic’s abdomen, making the hedgehog flinch. “Probably all sorts of evil things!”  
“Did it ever run through your head,” Sonic noted frowning, “That I feel awful and you’re squishing my organs?”  
“OH!” Chip flew up into the air, frowning. “I’m so sorry, Sonic!”  
“Come down here and lay next to me, not on top. We’ll watch the sun go down.” Sonic patted the ground next to him, smiling. “And then I’ll cook us something when Rouge gets back.”

* * *

The moon hung low near the horizon when they finally reached the door to the shrine. Chip pulled out half the tablet and then turn to the others. “So uh… do we have the other half?”  
Sonic swore, crossing his arms. “I knew we forgot something.”  
“You didn’t forget,” Rouge purred, approaching Chip. She reached into her shirt. “You mentioned it a few times. I took care of it before we even crossed paths.” She pulled out the other half of the tablet and put them together.  
Sonic raised his eyebrow. “How’d you know how to combine them?”  
“My old boss taught me. You know he’s from outside Empire City, by the Death Ruins? Right by the Temple Eggman built around.”  
“So that’s why he sent all those troops there, when the Black Arms came…”  
Chip took the key and pressed it into the door, a look of surprise on his face, as if he were shocked that he knew what he was doing. It opened and Sonic raced in, stretching out his arm and placing the Emerald in the Shrine. It sparkled in the dim glow and the earth began to move.  
“I’ve got to report in to the boss,” Rouge told Sonic quietly. “We’ve all met with the Temple Guardians to learn how, so I don’t need to say a thing about you, but he may have cameras, so he might know. You could go anywhere next, but Amy’s at her lab in Spagonia—she’d really like to see you.”  
Sonic grinned. “Is the reason you’re so calm in an earthquake because you can fly?”  
“No, because we built these temples to last. Sonic, I’m sorry I was rude about judging you, but you need to take a look at yourself. The old Sonic would never have shoved someone off a cliff just to prove a point. And if I hear of you doing that to anyone I care about, you really will be inside the Earth.”  
He let her walk away and frowned.


	3. Rooftop Reveries

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Sonic arrives at Amy's lab in Spagonia to meet a very changed woman, and Eggman's cult goes looking for him. Sonic has to decide whether to unveil himself, and figure out how he feels about the new professor of Gaia Studies.

Chapter 3: Rooftop Reveries  
It was a quick Chaos Control to Spagonia University from the windmill, though he waited until the sun came up for clarity of mind. It was, perhaps, a little too quick. As he was knocked over, he cursed his natural attraction to the false emeralds everyone seemed to have these days and his failure to prepare for the onslaught.  
She put the hammer away, making it disappear into the tiny pocket of the cosmic foam every furry seemed to carry with them. He looked at her from his place on the floor and his jaw fell. He’d seen her on TV, of course, in waiting rooms and retail stores, but he wasn’t prepared for the way she’d look in person. She glared down at him with bright green eyes, delicately lined in dark blue. Her hair hung, a little unkempt, around her face, much the same as it always had but without that Alice in Wonderland headband to keep it out of her eyes. She crossed her bare arms, resting white-gloved hands on her biceps, obscuring the pockets on her black vest. The old red dress she wore was no longer hoop-skirted and now grazed her hips. Her boots were laced now, a trend he was noticing in his absence. Perhaps most notable, and most embarrassing to him, was the sight of her undergarments. She was always busy flashing him upskirt shots of innocent white briefs back in the day, but from his viewpoint on the floor he could see the same pair of boxer shorts Shadow had been wearing last time he’d seen his double.  
“I’ll have you know I’m a married woman, Sonic, so you can stop looking up my skirt right now.”  
“You’re the one who knocked me down!” he growled, climbing to his feet. “How am I not supposed to look at rubber duckies?”  
“I didn’t think you’d fall!”  
He staggered, catching himself on her desk, ignoring her.  
“Oh God, Sonic, I’m sorry.” She ran over, sweeping him up in her arms, first in a side hug and then scooping up his knees in her other arm. “I forgot how sick you get.”  
He tried to resist, squirming, to stand on his own. After a while though, something in the back of his mind told him to let her: “She needs this as much as you do.” So he relaxed in her arms and watched her lift up a foot to pull a door handle, watched her carry him out to a leather couch in the library in front of a great globe, putting him down on it. Was this the same couch that was here when Professor Pickle was here? Was…  
“You must have tons of questions,” Amy noted. “But you’re also looking green, so they can wait. Here’s what you need to know. I’m Dr. Rose now, not Amy. I’m here to help you with this Gaia temple and send you on your way. I know Rouge and Knuckles are probably trying to hide you from Eggman but I’m certain he knows, so you can ditch Shadow’s goofy cape. But for now, you’re resting. I’ll bring you something to eat in a little while.  
She walked away, and Chip whistled.  
“You shouldn’t have looked up her skirt, Sonic!”  
“I didn’t mean to.”  
“She caught you.”  
Sonic blinked. “You mean… you think it would have been OK if she hadn’t seen me looking?”  
Chip considered. “Well, not ok. But… You wouldn’t have gotten in trouble?”  
“Chip. For one, I think on some level she wanted that to happen. I mean, she spent her childhood stalking me. But for two… just because you didn’t get caught doesn’t mean it’s not wrong. I screwed up the whole world, I’m not afraid of what happens to me because my eye wandered. I just hope she really did want that secretly, and that I didn’t hurt her feelings with it.”  
“You hurt my feelings more by not telling me you were safe and going to Shadow behind my back,” she growled, coming back in with a tray. She sat it on the curved-legged table in front of them and put a cup in Sonic’s hands. He breathed in, taking in the scent of warm tea. He closed his eyes as he heard Chip speak.  
“Ooh, what are these? They look tasty.”  
“Cucumber sandwiches. Old time’s sake.”  
Sonic smiled, in spite of himself, and sipped his tea, eyes still closed.   


* * *

  
She caught him in her arms as he fell, holding him close.  
“Ugh. What… happened?”  
“You already forgot what it feels like to change?” she chided, holding him.  
“I forgot it screws up my chaos control!” Shadow snapped, trying to stand. His knees buckled.  
“You just went to and from Apotos when you’re already sick. Sit down.”  
“I have to agree, cousin. Have a seat,” came a booming voice.   
Rouge looked up at the sound, observing Dr. Robotnik—Emperor Robotnik—sitting on his gilded throne, buttons on his red cape shining in the dim light. Shining, also, were his trademark blue spectacles, though he wore no goggles on his bald head now. His moustache was nearly gray, and now joined by a similarly colored goatee. Rouge smiled at the sight of him, fighting the feeling of disgust in the pit of her stomach. Sitting there on his golden throne, in a room of green and white and gold, he looked like some kind of savior out of the old artwork….   
At his order, Rouge lightened her grip, and Shadow let himself drop to the floor on his behind, grunting as the shock of impact ran up his spine. She rolled her eyes, not expecting him to go down quite so hard. She glanced at Shadow sitting there, looking like his old self, and fought tears.  
Eggman snapped his fingers. “Can we get these two some chairs?”   
A pair of young women in long green gowns skittered out of the shadows, each carrying a high-backed chair. They sat them down, and one lifted Shadow into a chair with surprising strength.  
“Thank you, ladies. Could you get them some tea? And maybe something for Shadow, what would you like?”  
He thought for a moment. “Maybe some toast?”  
They curtsied and disappeared through the door at the far end of the throne room. Rouge sat and crossed her legs.  
“If at any point you need to leave and lie down, Shadow, please tell me, and I shall have someone take you to your quarters.”  
Shadow nodded, but smiled. “I’ve been through this before. I was ready this time. Just not for that much chaos control at once right after. I’ll be fine.”  
“Very well. Thank you for bringing Rouge here so quickly. Knuckles has already arrived, and is in treatment. But… tell me about Apotos.”  
“I met Knuckles at the bridge and he handed me the tablet piece. I pickpocketed an old man to get the other one. I made my way through the ruins to the Gaia Shrine and deposited the emerald, and then everything went back into place. “  
Eggman brushed his moustache with a thumb and forefinger. “How did you open the door?”  
“The door?”  
“A little sprite that had been following Knuckles helped me.” Rouge added, carefully.  
“What did he look like?” He leaned forward.  
“Uh, blue-violet, with horns and…”  
Eggman simply noded. “And he was alone?”  
“Just with Knuckles.”  
Eggman frowned. “I was hoping Sonic might have returned with him.” He choked, suddenly. “I… I owe him such an apology. This is all so much my fault. If I could take it all back…” The emperor let out a sob, and Rouge felt herself wavering. Was it possible that Eggman was really sorry?  
Shadow started to say something, and Rouge reached over and grabbed his hand, squeezing tight, as if to stop him. But he continued, anyway.  
“Save your tears for when the world is safe, Doctor.” Shadow spat coldly. “If you really want to honor his memory, save the world.” Then Shadow looked up, and took a step further than Rouge ever would have. “Then abdicate, and turn the throne over to Cream. And shoot yourself.”  
The handmaidens arrived with the tea, delivering it with nervous frowns and shaking hands, and Eggman quickly wiped his eyes as his sobs grew even more intense. Shadow dug the remnants of a claw into Rouge’s fingers, chiding, forcing her to lighten her grip. Then he brushed the back of her hand with a thumb. Guards emerged from the shadows.  
“Shadow,” she hissed. “How could you? Is it Dark Gaia?”  
“It’s noon,” he snapped. “That was all me.”  


* * *

  
It was still daytime when he woke, but he wondered why he was so hungry. His stomach churned with the upcoming change and with emptiness, or so he thought. Far off he could smell something frying, but it seemed so distant compared to his hunger and his grogginess.  
It wasn’t pain, exactly, nor was it unpleasant. It was the haziness of a pleasant sleep, the afterglow of good dreams. He dreamed of Amy and Shadow, of dresses and tuxedos… Only now as he began to wake did the absurdity of marrying them both seem apparent. He chuckled to himself, flashing back to old tabloid headlines he’d laughed at back then, headlines that now seemed so insignificant and so pedantic. But where but a dream could he see Tails dancing with Cream among rubber chickens, and Chip bursting out of a wedding cake with chili dogs?  
Ten years ago dreams of a wedding would have nightmares, unless in the dream he was the best man or the DJ.  
He groggily tried to sit, finding it a bit more difficult than usual. It wasn’t fatigue, it was… focus. It seemed so much more difficult to keep his mind on one thing, to contract this muscle and relax another, when he could be thinking about the dream he had before the wedding, in which he and Tails were looking for Espio in Holoska. Sonic’s snowboard kept snapping, so finally he spun like a buzz saw to cut one out of a tree.  
As he sat up, watching the sunlight pour in the East window, he smiled, glad to finally feel rested for the first time in years…  
East?  
Sonic jumped to his feet, staggering as the back of his brain struggled to catch up with the front. When he’d arrived the sun had been filtering in the other window, and had been much lower besides. His cloak sat folded, neat and clean, on the table nearby, as did a pair of fresh socks and a new pair of gloves. His boots also sat there, shined and cleaned noticeably free of the rotten dairy smell they’d acquired over the years. No, Sonic decided, they were most certainly not the old ones.  
He looked over at a majestic grandfather clock, its golden hands making right angles, shorter leg pointing toward the window. The pendulum inside, shaped like a golden buzzsaw with two red gems embedded near one side, swung back and forth. He laughed in spite himself, surprised to see some evidence that someone still considered him a hero. Amy’s lab. Of course.  
But then he looked at the face of the clock and the realization hit him. “I slept 18 hours.” He blurted.  
Sonic looked around the room for evidence of what it is that could have put him out through his change back and forth into the werehog, and ultimately found it on his own arm—a strange, gooey residue on his bicep. He finally glanced at the note on the table, and growled.  
“Dear Sonic,  
“You were looking a little pale and tired, so I put a mild sedative in your tea. I remember how sick you were last time, and I think that might have been part of why things went wrong, so I decided to take things into my own hands and ensure your health. I used a heavier sedative, being so near sunset, and when you were still out soundly when the sun was about to rise, I used another sedative with a shorter half-life so you wouldn’t have the pain of changing. The one I used causes crazy vivid dreams, so have fun! I’m sorry to deceive you, but I owe you your health, all the chasing I used to do to you.  
“Here are your clothes—they were looking ratty, so I raided Shadow’s drawer in my bedroom here. If you want something different I can take you up there and show you his clothes, he won’t mind. When you wake, please take a bath or shower—I don’t care which one but you STINK—and come downstairs for breakfast.   
“Chip watched you most of the night before falling asleep himself. It was so strange, seeing him like that, so very… how do I say this. He reminds me so much of Shadow before we stopped the ARK from falling.”  
Sonic’s eyes bugged out of his head. What a strange comparison to make!  
“We’ll talk about what to do over breakfast,” the letter continued. “Just you and me and Chip. Yvon Fulbert—my assistant and formerly Professor Pickles’—will be stopping by later, and it will be up to you whether you want to include him.  
“For what it’s worth, I’m so glad to have you back. I’ve missed you so much, and I still love you, though not the same way. I hope that doesn’t hurt you too much, but given the way you ran away from me, I don’t think it’ll be any spines off your back. You are my hero, my inspiration, and I never doubted for a second that what’s happened is not your fault. But together, maybe we can finally make it all right.  
“See you at breakfast.  
“-Dr. Amy Rose”  
Sonic smiled, grabbing the clothes she’d lain out with the hand in which he wasn’t holding the letter. He wandered around until he found a bathroom, a lovely old-fashioned Spagonian wash closet with supplies set out. He spotted a blue towel, soap and shampoo, and a bottle of oil on the counter. He sat the clothes down next to the sink and opened the bottle, sniffing it, sighing at the familiar scent of orange blossom. Only another hedgehog could possibly understand the need to anoint. He capped the bottle and started the water in the bathtub. He hoped he had time for a nice, hot, long bath.  


* * *

  
She flipped the pancakes into the air artfully, humming a sweet tune, occasionally muttering to follow her. Chip was just happy to hear someone singing. Music was special to him, so old and yet so new. He didn’t recognize a single song, and yet everything seemed to touch him on a deep level, far away. He danced in the air as she hummed, unable to focus on setting the table as she asked.  
She was beautiful, standing there, pink spines glimmering in the harsh morning light. She was wearing pants today, which means there wouldn’t be any confusion about whether it was ok to look up her skirt, but the pants hugged every curve of her legs with a tight gentleness. She still wore the dress over it, this one with a slightly different white lace pattern on the neck than the one the day before, and her black pocketed vest was now dark blue. He could see why Sonic kind of liked her, and why Sonic had muttered her name as he slept, even as Chip lay on his chest.  
The doorbell rang, and she mouthed to Chip, “Hide,” her flat, white teeth flashing. She motioned to her table, lifting the long cloth carefully. Chip flew under and peeked toward the door through the thin lace lining.  
When she answered the door, there were footsteps and shouts, mostly Amy shouting, “Get out of my house!” A pair of green robes came into view, and after, her boots.  
“You have no right to just storm into my house! Get back out and knock and ask to be let in like a civilized person!”  
“We can’t be seen at the door,” answered a nasal voice. “It would endanger you, Dr. Rose, for Dark Gaia to know we came to you.”  
“Then maybe you ought to have shown up in common clothes! What’s the matter, afraid Spagonians might tell Dark Gaia, ‘oh yeah, I saw this guy with two different color eyes go into Dr. Rose’s house?’”  
The one figure took a step back. “You recognized me?”  
“Of course I recognized you and your perpetual sinus infection,” Amy hissed. “This green cloak crap is a load of bull. You’re all so transparent. So what on earth do you want in my house that couldn’t have been e-mailed me by your lackey on my staff?” She added coldly, “Did Maria tell you something?”  
“Don’t make fun of me!” the man answered, stepping closer to the table. “We’re here to tell you that there are simultaneous reports of someone seeing Shadow in Apotos and Mazuri with his check-ins for the guard in Eggmanland. It’s possible he teleported back and forth, but more likely—”  
“I’m looking for Sonic,” Amy noted, “And if I find him I can’t exactly hide him, can I?”  
“So why do you have two table settings?” Chip could see a hand going toward the table.  
“Yvon’s supposed to come for breakfast,” Amy excused, “if Dark Gaia doesn’t have him hung over again.”  
“Amy.” The one cloaked figure approached her, taking a hand. “You know how much it would mean to Ivo to know Sonic is alive. You—“  
She slapped his hand away. “Listen, you old coot, I’m Dr. Rose to you. If Sonic really is alive, it’s up to him who knows. If he appears on my doorstep I won’t betray his trust, not even to the Emperor. “  
“That’s treason.”  
“Says the GUN Commander of the United Federation.”  
Chip saw the man raise a hand to slap her, but then he stopped, wavering.  
“That’d better be a high five, boat eyes,” came Sonic’s voice at the other side of the room.  
“Sonic!” The stuffy voice gasped.  
“That’s right! And you guys are dressed all green and stuff, like you’re cult of Light Gaia. That right?”  
Chip couldn’t see, but he figured they nodded. “Legion of Light,” another voice corrected.  
“Which means you’re dressed up like my best friend threatening a lady. No one knows Chip like I do, and I can tell you that he’d never threaten anyone, not even someone who ran their mouth too much.” He saw Sonic’s bare feet appear near the tablecloth, going toe to toe with the robed figures boots. “If you don’t want me to pop in and pay your portly little leader in the green robes a visit to tell him what you were doing… If you don’t want me to let, maybe, I don’t know, the guy you worship have at him for giving this mission to an impulsive jerk who almost killed a good guy before… Then I suggest you turn around and go about your business.”  
“Yes, sir, Chosen, sir.” The green figures turned and left.  
“So… now you’re unveiled.” Amy said, trailing off. Chip flew out from under the table to find Sonic standing there, naked save a blue towel around his waist.  
“I guess so. You wouldn’t have a pair of my old shoes lying around, would you, Amy?”  
She grinned. “Help yourself to pancakes, I’ll find a pair.”   


* * *

  
The old man hovered over the phone, hand shaking. Should he call his Emperor, do his duty to the cult? But Light Gaia’s own natural emissary had attacked his very presence there. It was true that Sonic was known to be infected by Dark Gaia, and yet he never once gave into it, and yet he was followed at every turn by the being ultimately revealed to be their savior, their creator. And wasn’t Eggman the one who had caused all of this trouble in the first place? The one who had cracked open the world, launched Sonic from orbit, tried to exploit the energy of Dark Gaia for his own ends? The former Commander felt a tear welling up in his brown eye at the conflict he felt he betrayal. None of the heroes had ever lived up to themselves. Not Maria, not the people on the ARK, and not even Sonic, or Chip, or Ivo.   
So now he asked himself: why is it that Ivo is so focused on knowing if Sonic’s alive? He had known Ivo since they were both boys, on a supervised visit with the remains of Maria’s family. He knew Ivo was one for spectacle and symbolism… but over the years he had learned that those always took second place to tactics in a crisis not of his own making. He had a reason to want to know.  
Remembering the news, remembering the site of impact he’d seen in Apotos, remembering her face the last time he saw her, remembering Shadow’s contrition about the terrible things that happened, he realized something. He thought of that young soldier who’d told him where to find Shadow. What would that young man had felt if the Commander had put a bullet in Shadow’s brain, and no one had been there to destroy the comet?   
“I won’t destroy the world,” he decided, “Because one man needs a shrink.” The GUN Commander put down the phone and walked out the door, shedding his green cloak on the way. There was a café on the corner and he’d never had Spagonian coffee.   


* * *

  
He still didn’t feel like eating, but he found what was in front of him much easier to stomach than anything offered him in a long time.   
Sonic picked up his fork and knife and cut into his eggs, trying to focus on the woman in front of him instead of the food on his plate. It would get easier to eat in a few weeks… though it would get harder first. He shoveled the yellow, fluffy scrambled yolk into his mouth as Amy talked, words issuing from her painted pink lips.  
“So you’re sure you’re comfortable with being out?” She asked, leaning forward as she nibbled on a muffin, pink spines falling in her face.  
Sonic nodded. Out of the corner of his eye he could see Chip trying to hide the fact that he was eating hashbrowns with his hands instead of a fork. Sonic took a bite of bacon.  
“Ok. So I’m going to tell you what the plan is.” Amy cut into her pancake and took in a bite, sweeping it to the side of her flat, pearly teeth to speak. “What’s happening. Eggman dispatched us out to various Shrine locations in the hopes of meeting you. Our departure orders and locations are based on where he and I thought you would go. I saw little reason to mislead him here; he’s gotten the best of us before and I figured we could distract him with the truth. Your next stop after me is to Holoska, then Chun-nan, Shamar, Adabat, and finally Eggmanland. I know Cream is supposed to be the next link in the chain.”  
“What if I weren’t here?” He sampled some toast, and, enjoying its relative lightness in his mouth, began nibbling on the piece in earnest. He thought he would enjoy watching her eyes narrow at the thought, but instead he found it breaking his heart. Was that a glimmer of a tear forming? He decided not to remind her of that possibility in the future.  
Amy sighed. “Then we would have to take care of the emerald ourselves.” She pulled an emerald from her blouse, not the activated false emerald Sonic had homed in on, but a dead one, probably violet, by the look. It glistened in the morning sun, casting a pink glow on her white gloves. “Find Chip, get his help, and then send him on the next stop.”  
“And after? When Dark Gaia and Light Gaia fight inside the Earth?”  
Amy pondered, resting her chin on her fist, her elbow on the table. “So… what exactly happened down there? That would determine the plan.”  
“We fell… and fell, forever. Dark Gaia sucked all the Gaia Force out of me, and turned me back into this. Chip… he summoned all the temples around him, like a GUN mech, and fought Dark Gaia until I recovered.” Sonic grinned. “Knuckles told me you’d guessed that. I’m real impressed, Amy.” He watched her eyes light up, her smile finally reach her ears. “I always knew you were really clever, and creative, but I never knew you’d put it together like that. Anyway… I used the temples to attack Dark Gaia’s eyes, but I screwed up a chaos control and fell. I was a couple rings short of going super…”  
Amy thought, pursing her lips. “So you’d need all of us down there.”  
“Only the ones who can chaos control or fly. Or send me rings.”  
Amy poured some milk in a glass from the pitcher. He watched her bare bicep twitch, as if the weight and the angle were just a little too much for her. “I’ll take a crash course in mech piloting once you move on.”  
Sonic choked on a crust, coughed, and swallowed. “You’re not following me?”  
Amy frowned, looking away, green eyes downcast on tile. “Sonic, Shadow needs me right now. He needs me a lot more than you do. He told Eggman he should abdicate and kill himself.”  
“He… he really said that?” Sonic put his head in his hands, trying not to see her, or him.  
“And no, it wasn’t Dark Gaia. It was apparently said of his own… free will. Broad daylight. I’m not sure what Eggman’s going to do with him, but he’s assured me he doesn’t blame me one bit.”   
Sonic laughed, suddenly trying to imagine Shadow acting like Pickle’s old assistant, looking up. “But… Amy, that sounds just like him!”  
She threw a strawberry at Sonic’s head and squealed, “No, no it doesn’t! Shadow would never tell someone to kill himself! He’d pull out a gun and do it for them, or keep it to himself!” Amy crossed her arms in indignation, insulted.  
Sonic resumed his toast, considering. “So… so he would. Yeah, you’ve got a point there. Huh.”  


* * *

  
It went too easily, too well.   
She already had the tablet—she’d gathered it after last time. Both halves neatly tucked away in her lab for years, dusty. She set Yvon, who looked much worse than he did a decade before, with sagging eyes and a mean grimace, to caring for the lab and they departed, through the new Gaia temple toward the old shrine. She spent the sunlit trip telling Sonic of the private exploits of his former friends, her life with Shadow, their arguments about whether to try and conceive. He told her beneath the crumbling aqueduct of all the wonderful people he’d met and things he’d seen, the lives he’d saved. Chip had nothing to share but listened quietly, sitting in the grass, patiently, eager to know more. They picnicked near a fountain beneath a pair of lovely towers, they napped in a patch of trees in a corner of the street. When he changed, she held his claws in her delicate hands, telling him it’d be over soon. When she awoke and realized she’d lost track of the date, he punched her in just the right part of her back to dull the pain—though only after her repeated reassurance that no, he wouldn’t hurt her if he hit the muscles just right. It was when Chip fell asleep in the sunlight on the second day of their journey, the shrine just in view beyond the cottage roofs, that they finally had a chance to speak their minds.  
“He’s different this time,” Amy noted, pursing her lips and watching the sprite sleep.  
“Well, aren’t we all?” Sonic shrugged, crossing his arms and sitting down beneath a tree, eyes on her.  
“He’s not as nice. And he stays up later.” She sounded like her old self there, he thought, without sophistication, without that coldness she’d built up. A reminder of how far she’d come. He was proud of her. He was…  
“The balance has shifted. I think before, Light was in control and Dark was the challenger. Now it’s the other way.   
“And it’s fairly clear,” Amy noted, sitting next to him and adjusting her slightly longer skirt, “that Light is linked to daylight and Dark, to night.”  
“Right. He told me that, last time.”  
Amy looked over at Chip, saying nothing, brow furrowed, but Sonic understood what she said.   
“I’m not going to decide who he is and what he’s worth based on ten years ago and a couple psychedelic spectral enemies. It hurts enough, people doing that to me.”  
“I think this is more complicated than we ever knew, Sonic.”  
“What did we do that wasn’t, Amy?” He leaned over a moment, his face close to hers, eyes shining in the afternoon sun, before pulling away. “The only difference is, this time, we see how screwed up things have gotten going in.”  


* * *

  
The Earth was still shaking, Spagonia still settling down to join with Mazuri on its Southern border, when they returned to Amy’s house. Night had long since come, and Sonic’s claws were shaking even after the trail mix she’d given him—or what little he would eat of it.  
“You aren’t leaving for Holoska until morning, Mister,” she scolded. “I don’t know what’s wrong but you don’t look very well at all.”  
He was hobbling after her on all fours, tripping occasionally from the tremors in his front and back legs. His black cloak was folded neatly inside Amy’s pack, so much a tripping hazard it was in his current state. He was staring off ahead of him, barely listening.  
Amy walked up to the door and began searching her bag for her key. “When did you start feeling sick?” She asked.  
“Right before the change.” He sat down on her doorstep with a thud.  
As Amy reached to insert the key into the lock, however, the door opened, revealing a tall human with brown hair, picking up a reddish hue from years of Dark Gaia exposure. His face was contorted into a frown, his pale eyes glazed with the night. Sonic and Amy both were sure they could smell wine on his breath.  
“Yvon,” Amy snarled. “I’ve asked you not to come to my house at night. You know what you’re like.”  
Yvon sneered at her. “The men in the cloaks made me. They wanted me to give you a message.”  
Amy took a step back. “And what was that?”  
“They left some clothes for Sonic, nice to see you again, by the way, jackass,” Yvon spat. “And they wanted me to tell you that Sonic’s identity is in his control. They said that they are at his service. Don’t see why a guy who failed the world would get so mu-“  
Yvon bent forward in his taunting, and his face plowed into the oncoming hammer with a satisfying squeak. He fell.  
“We’ve had this conversation before, Yvon. There will be no Sonic-bashing in this zone unless you want to fight me. Now go clean yourself up. I’m about done with you here, and you’re coming with me to Eggmanland tomorrow.”  
He got up and scrambled out of the house, running past Sonic. Amy lead him into the house. “He’s getting worse, but he’s indispensible as an assistant. I see why Pickle, Gaia rest his soul, was so reliant on him. In fact, if it weren’t for the distraction of Dark Gaia, he’d be the Doctor of Gaia Studies, not me.”  
She dropped her pack at the door and lead Sonic off, up the stairs, to a little bedroom. It was blue and white; royal blue sheets with a white and blue quilt in gold trim; white walls and a blue picture. The bed was small, but more than wide enough for two furries. Was that her goal? Was she…?  
“You’ll sleep here tonight. I would have put you here the first night, but then you might have realized I what I was doing. I’ll be down the hall if you need anything, but unless it’s an emergency, give me an hour to call Shadow and Eggman.” Amy knelt down and gave Sonic a hug. “I’m so worried, Sonic. I… I can’t get you back after all this time only to lose you again. You need to rest.” Then she frowned. “Are your eyes watering?”  
“They’ve been itching since we started back.”  
“Maybe you’re catching a cold. I’ll get you some food, and you can take a bath if you want, and then I’ll call Shadow, ok?”  
She headed downstairs, and Sonic sighed, slinking off toward the bathroom. Chip tried to follow, only to have the door shut softly in his face.  
Sonic stripped away his shoes, his socks, his cloak, and walked over to the bathtub, turning the hot water on. He reached up to the wall and pressed a few buttons on the insect-like clock radio (“Made in Eggmanland”) until music started to play. It was a song he recognized, a song Shadow used to listen to, one he always said was about Sonic. It wasn’t then, but it was now.  
He turned the volume up as high as it would go, and then settled into the water, letting it seem to sear at his scarred flesh. Then he stuck his arm in his mouth, bit down hard, and screamed, unheard.  
He hoped.  


* * *

  
Normally when he dreamed, and it wasn’t a replay of his failings, she was there. She would ask him for her help, and he would help her as they worked through every story ever told. She’d pout and she’d plead and she’d chide and she’d joke, and she would just look so sad standing there, so in need of help. And then she betrayed him, every time, wind in her violet hair, a flower or a ring in hand. He’d told Shadow about her, and his opinion was that she was his mother, or perhaps a symbol of the world and what it had done to him. Sonic was inclined to go with the latter; he was pretty sure he wasn’t half human.  
But this time it was Amy in his dreams, asking for help, begging and pleading, and when the time came to betray, she stood by his side. Then she was drying him off, leading him out of the tub to bed, where a tray of chili dogs was waiting. He ate them in a daze, unsure if he were awake or asleep, unwilling to decide. She sat by his side, a worried gleam in her eyes, hands wringing in her lap, helpless. He wanted to help her. He wanted to help her help him. He wanted to help her with that…  
And then something beeped in her pocket, and a tinny song played, of Shadow singing, an old sad song. “Excuse me,” she apologized, pulling out a phone and flipping it open. “Shadow, honey? Are you ok—“ She dashed out of the room.  
He reached to scream into his fist again, only to find a bandage around his arm. He lay awake instead, trying not to admit to himself, trying to think of Merlina or Shahra or Miss Utterson instead, trying to ignore the distant shouting.  


* * *

  
“What were you thinking?”  
She flipped on the video screen instead, sitting down at her desk.  
“I don’t know what came over me,” Shadow pleaded, looking like his old self, neat, round fingers and flat teeth, pounding the table with clawless fists.   
“The truth, huh?” She frowned. She of course, knew that was the truth, it was how they all felt, but who would dare say it with how effectively he’d culled all rebellion? There had only been one execution at first, but coupled with the suppressors, with Shadow and Rouge and Knuckles getting sick, there was only one needed.   
He looked at her, pleading, and she adjusted the set, trying to make the colors right, so he’d look as if he were there.   
“Shadow, I can’t help you now. I don’t know where this crazy resentment of Dr. Robotnik has come from after all he’s done for us,” she lied. “I’m going to plead on your behalf, of course, you’re under a lot of stress and you’ve been sick since the changes started again.” Finally she stopped turning the dial. “Shadow, what color is the light there? You look funny.”  
He blinked. “Amy, this is our bedroom. It’s the same color as always?”  
She peered at him closely before finally announcing her finding: “Shadow, your eyes are brown!”  
“Are they?” He ran over to a mirror. “They are. They weren’t last night…”  


* * *

  
She cried when he left, tears flowing down her pale cheeks, green eyes gleaming. He cried too. “I’m so glad we can finally really be friends, Amy,” he told her. “When this is over, we’ll find time. You and Shad and me, long as we make it out alive.”  
She reached up and adjusted the blue cloak he now wore. “We will. And I won’t be too mad at Shadow for keeping you from me. I understand why you wanted privacy. But hurry. Cream is waiting.”  
He stepped into the teleporter and took one last look at her, wide mouth grinning through shining tears. Always finding the best in life. Did that make Shadow the best? 


	5. Dragon Wounds

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Sonic meets Espio in Chun-nan, where he learns things about the world he left behind--and himself--that he'd rather not know.

Cold, royal blue eyes, glaring back at him over glasses of the same royal blue, sparkling in the dim console lamps, in the low light. He swept her into his arms and fled, burying is face in her hair—her crimson hair, not violet.  
They watched the ship plummet into the sea from the safety of the grass-dusted cape above, watching flames swallowed up by foam and salt.   
And they laughed, finally free.  
He awoke with a name on his lips, a name he couldn’t remember. The name that came out instead was “Merlina.”  
“Who’s she?” Came an unexpected reply, a male voice.  
Sonic jumped, looking for the source, sending the sleeping fairy on his chest rolling onto the bed below with a sleepy little squeak. He found a violet figure at his bedside, sharpening a kunai. Before he could even ask, the ninja spoke.  
“You dozed off in the train station, where we were to meet. Her Royal Highness got you a room here and asked me to watch over you while you slept.” He sneered a bit at that thought, as if he had somewhere better to be.  
“Who carried me?” Sonic lay back down. His obvious annoyance aside, he had nothing to fear from Espio.  
“She did. She used to lug Big and Amy around at half her size; it’s hardly a surprise she could carry you.”  
Sonic sat up again, slower this time, so the world didn’t seem to spin. He took a look at the little room, full of beautiful china vases and ornate furniture, warm paper lamps. Most striking was his companion, so unchanged, almost the same, a little bluer in coloration and a little wrinkled around the eyes.   
“You know what amazes me, Espio?” Sonic took a deep breath. “The part I’m afraid to tell my close friends?”  
The chameleon shook his head, sharpening. His yellow eyes seemed to smoulder in the lantern light.  
“How quickly everyone threw in with him. How quickly they gave up. He destroys the world and remakes it in his image, but we survive and we give up?”  
Espio frowned, not looking up. Somehow that bothered Sonic more than the glare he expected. “I’m surprised to hear that from you.”  
“I don’t judge. Well, I try not to.” Sonic let a heavy sigh, trying to forget his conversation with Eggman. “I do a little, maybe. But everyone changed so fast. I understand why, why they did it, some of them. Knuckles, and Amy, I get.”  
Espio stood up, walking to the window, not meeting Sonic’s eyes. “Do you really understand what we went through? Can you?”  
“No, Espio, I can’t. I wasn’t there, just like everyone else wasn’t there with me.”  
Espio glanced a second at Sonic’s face, eyes shadowed. “So the change is painful.”  
Sonic nodded, assented, offering a quiet “yeah.”  
“But it’s over in seconds. You can do that just like going super. Shadow too, now that there’s a day and a night.”  
Sonic grunted again, inwardly groaning. He was starting to regret having asked.  
“We were trying to hold the last chunk of the old Death Ruins between Empire and Westopolis. Mostly we were trying to get the President out of the country, to our allies in Apotos. It was his idea to hide there, even with Eggmanland on top of half the ruins. He was a Temple Guardian as a boy, I guess he knew the area. Amy had just been brought in by Shadow, fresh back from Shamar.” Sonic tried to imagine how they must have looked as Espio spoke, the sad sparkle in Amy’s eyes, Shadow’s fur unkempt, the tall man with sad eyes in a tattered blue suit telling them where to hide. “It started with Shadow. He stopped sleeping at night, or what passed for night without a star in the sky.”  
Sonic mentioned, “I have a hard time sleeping as the werehog,” to keep the story moving.  
“He was jittery, said his blood was on fire. Within a day he was feverish, dazed, barely able to speak. His teeth began to change, and he started lashing out at Amy, who labored over him day and night, caring for him every spare moment she had past her other duties. With his new claws he put a scar across the President’s forehead for getting his soup too hot.”  
Sonic nodded, having heard the story before, but frowned, having not heard it quite this way.  
Espio bit his lip, then continued. “Vector started waking me in the night. At first I thought it was worry for Shadow, but then he started getting cranky a week later, complaining it was too hot when I could see my breath in the air. It was November, if you forgot. He started complaining about toothaches.” Espio looked down. “Shadow was firmly in the throes of madness by then; I was sure I was going to lose Vector. Once Shadow’s body was better, once he could move, I told Amy and the President to take Charmy and run for it.”  
Sonic leaned forward, shuddering to hear it this way.  
“What good is fighting Eggman if we are monsters, not people? Just shells of who we were? What good does it do to die for a world that hasn’t ended, only become worse, when an evil man has the only means to relative peace?” The chameleon threw his kunai into the wall, and it hit with a twang. “What Eggman did to you is between you, him, and the Gods,” Espio sighed with resignation, “But I had my… I had my partner, that child, our team—no, our family—to worry about. So we turned us in. Or, I turned us in. Vector didn’t speak to me for a year, but I saw him pass each day, no bags under his clear eyes, healthy scales in all the right colors.”  
Sonic good up, putting a hand on Espio’s shoulder. “That’s a hard choice, Espio, but we do what we have to for people we love. I couldn’t blame you without blaming myself all those times Eggman took a hostage.”  
“Amy came to us a month later, arm hanging at a funny angle out of a torn dress.” Sonic recoiled, having never heard this before. “She pledged her loyalty to the Emperor in exchange for rescuing Charmy from Shadow. He’d lost his mind, thought Charmy was Maria. Charmy, a little male bee, for a human girl. He kidnapped him, threw Amy of a cliff for getting in his way.”  
Sonic made a little gasp, the wind knocked out of him as he remembered Rouge’s face.  
“It took all of us to stop him. Vector and myself, Knuckles, Cream, tons of robot troops, the GUN Commander and Diablon, even Eggman in his mech to sweep in and grab Charmy. Eggman was badly hurt in the incident. As soon as we dragged Shadow, kicking and streaming, into the suppressor perimeter, he started screaming, ‘What have I done?’ Never have I seen a man weep like that.  
“And he looked just like me.”  
Espio took a breath, sitting down on the edge of Sonic’s bed. “Yes. Amy didn’t speak to anyone for a month. Rouge washed up on Shadow’s doorstep, trying to tear off her skin, asking us to take it out. She spent three days handcuffed to a hospital bed for trying to kill Eggman, for ‘doing this to us.’ Knuckles negotiated her way out. I’m not sure how, I didn’t know he knew a thing about diplomacy. He’d already started setting up a refugee camp on the Island by then.”  
Sonic put his head in his hands. “No one ever told me this, Espio,” he marveled. “Shadow never told me any of this. He made it sound so simple, so casual, I…”  
“He wanted you not to feel guilty, no doubt.” Espio got back, pulling his kunai from the wall. “When Amy finally spoke, it was to me. I’m not sure what about me drew her interest. Maybe because we weren’t that close; maybe the same reason you asked me to tell.” He smiled sadly. “She said to me, in passing, ‘Hey Espio… did you ever notice before, that it’s only when the sun goes down that the moon shines?”   
Sonic bit his lip and tasted blood.  


* * *

  
“Amy.”  
Knuckles stepped in the apartment, taking off his cloak carefully and hanging it on the wall carelessly.  
“You could knock.” Shadow was sitting at the table, sipping a mug of tea. Knuckles was stunned to see him looking so much like his old self, a tiny, spiny hedgehog, and yet so diminished. He sat there wrapped in a blanket, staring at Knuckles with dull eyes.  
Knuckles stared at him for a moment. “Shadow. I didn’t expect you.”  
“No, you clearly came here to berate my wife, who went to get me some juice.”  
Knuckles’ sat down. “I promise I’m not going to hurt her, Shadow. I just need to talk to her.”  
Shadow rolled his eyes, “You don’t want to be seen speaking to me given what I said to him.”   
He sat down across from him. “You’re my friend and I care about you. I don’t care where I’m seen.”  
Shadow stood up, walking over to the window, standing in the sunlight. “Have you heard? Sonic’s back.”  
Knuckles grinned. “Yeah. I wish I’d seen him in Apotos.” He kicked his foot up on another chair. “It would have been nice to catch up with an old friend and tell him how great it is to see him. Maybe we’ll meet again when he comes here for the last emerald.”  
“I can’t be too excited.” Shadow looked over his shoulder at Knuckles, frowning.  
“Why’s that?”  
“Because now that all the secrets are coming out he might learn the truth.”  
Knuckles came over and put a hand on Shadow’s shoulder. “Shad… We all feel that. No one is proud of what happened after the Last Sunrise.”   
Shadow leaned on the window, flopping as he hit the glass, as if he expected to fall out of the tower down to the city below. “I did things you never dreamed of in your worst nightmare.”  
Knuckles pulled him into a hug. “Your sickness was the reason they caught mine before I hurt her.”   
“And I’m changing again. I feel like two different people, Knuckles, never myself.”  
Knuckles pulled him close. “You’ll be free soon. Sonic will take care of it.  
Another pair of arms joined the hug, these ones scented of lilies and roses. “And we’ll be there behind him. Together.”  
“But what if we can’t follow him? What if it closes up behind us, or once we’re down there, we can’t help?” Shadow put his head on her shoulder, burying his nose in her pink spines.  
“Oh Shadow, this isn’t the first time that’s happened.” Amy pulled away. “We always have to watch you and Sonic at the last moments. Even Sonic knows that feeling, with the Black Arms, how you saved us. And … have a seat. Let Knuckles and me tell you about Bean the Dynamite, Gods rest his soul.”  


* * *

  
They set out before dawn at his request; Espio was fine with that. They left the inn, entered the temple, and began the long winding path toward the shrine. Espio was surprised at how relatively few Dark Gaia monsters they faced; they encountered a single Great Mother, a few Nightmares here and there. It was almost peaceful to Espio, and he found his only regret was being in the company of Sonic, and not Charmy and Vector. He missed those adventures, running through jungles and flying through factories, finding computer rooms. He missed being with them. But since Vector got sick it was no longer all that possible…  
He was distracted from his reverie by a scream and a splash. By the time he looked, the sun sparkled on the water beside the bridge, and Sonic floated downstream, screaming and sputtering.  
Espio swore so much that a native came out of her hut and slapped him.  
Chip was too busy crying to notice.  


* * *

  
“Live, Sonic.”  
Sonic lay in the cold magma, floating along, Chip standing over him. He wasn’t the Gaia Colossus, standing there, maroon-violet fur glistening in the eerie glowing light. No, nor was he his tiny former self, fluffy and warm. He wasn’t the strange spiny creature he became. He was… beautiful. Perfect proportions, like a man, broad chest and narrow hips. He was a woman with long violet hair, braided, sticking up. He was Amy, He was…  
“Chip?”  
“Live, Sonic.”  
He turned away from his old friend. “What if I don’t want to?”  
“Tough! I need you Sonic! We all need you! We can’t do it without you.”  
Sonic tried to climb to his feet in the swirling icy magma, raising a fist into the air. “I won’t save the world for you, you stupid fairy! I’ll only do it for myself!”  
And then Chip began to laugh, his old self, fluffy tail wiggling in the air, chartreuse wings beating.  
“Oh Sonic, I don’t need you help to save the world this time! I learned so much last time, your sacrifice isn’t in vain. You can just relax, although I like how you’re fixing the emeralds.” Chip flew up into his face, reaching out, touching a cheek with a delicate claw. “I need you to live so I can feel happy instead of just right.”  
“Chip.” He felt his eyes watering, and he reached out to caress chip’s little face in a claw. “Chip, I didn’t mean…”  
“No one has a perfectly pure heart, Sonic. But you’re as close as it gets. Don’t run from your feelings.” Chip hugged him. “But don’t give into them either.”  
Sonic held him tight, close to his chest, trying to feel his warmth, trying to bring that smile to his own face.  
“I love you, Sonic. I always have and I always will.”  
“Why?” Sonic asked. “Why does it feel like you’re saying goodbye?”  
“Because I am. I’ll never be this way again. Not if all goes right. You’ll understand… you’ll be so proud of me!”  
“Please don’t go, Chip. I want to talk to you!”  
“We can talk later.” Chip placed a little hand on Sonic’s chest. “For now, you need to live.” The traced a hand up Sonic’s chest, and suddenly he was lying in the sunlight and sand, coughing, water pouring out of his mouth. A pair of little girls picked him up out of the sand, holding him up and pressing on his chest to push the water out.   
He laughed between the coughs, When Chip flew into his arms, purple wings fluttering, he laughed even harder. “Thanks for saving me,” he croaked.  
Chip blinked for a moment, surprised. “I… shucks, Sonic, I tried.”  


* * *

  
He slept for half the day at the young ladies’ house, and Espio had little to do but watch and wait. He helped with housework, sure, but who shows the work they must do to world heroes? Or to Eggman’s inquisitors, for that matter. So he watched him lie there, watched Sonic sleep, dozing away the stress and the strain, the Dark Gaia Force and the warping of his body. He shivered in his sleep, and seemed to be burning up—exertion trying to swim?—and he kept on muttering for Chip, begging for him. For the little fairy’s part, he stayed at Sonic’s side, holding his hands, except for a few trips to the bathroom and the kitchen.   
After a while he grew tired of watching, and stood, eager to do something else. As he turned to go toward the family’s small home office, he heard Sonic mutter, “Chip, no.” The creature recoiled, looking at Espio, frightened… or pleading?  
“He’s probably dreaming you’re hurt, Chip.” Espio reached over and patted the horned being on the head. “He’s that kind of person.” Espio turned to leave, taking a peek over his shoulder to make sure Chip returned to Sonic before leaving the room.  
He asked the family to use their internet connection, so he could tell Eggman how helpful they were to the world’s hero, Sonic. It took some convincing to show them he meant well, that he wasn’t going to ask Eggman to send their own government after them, but eventually he finagled use of the computer out of them. He felt awkward reporting to Eggman about Sonic, but he was a detective, not a hero.  
“Espio? How do you fare in the far East?” Asked the emperor, appearing on the screen in his pajamas.  
“I did not mean to wake you, your imperial majesty,” Espio apologized, bowing. “But I have news to report of Sonic.”  
“Cream has informed me that you and he met successfully and she bought the pair of you a night at Chun-nan’s finest inn.”   
Espio studied his boss’s sleepy face, uncovered and unobscured, naked royal blue eyes staring at him from the darkness of Eggmanland, begging for some news in which to cover themselves.  
Far away, behind Eggman, he heard Vanilla mutter, “Darling, come back to bed, my feet are cold.”  
“Sonic doesn’t appear to be well, my liege,” Espio noted. “He was asleep when Cream made the handoff to me, and slept quite a while. He doesn’t eat the way he used to, and when the sun came up, something happened to him. Somehow he fell into the river. We found him miles downstream, hedgehog again, being resuscitated by some locals. They claimed something pushed him ashore and made him start coughing up water, but they couldn’t describe it. Since the incident, he’s been feverish and delirious, mostly sleeping. He claims…” Espio frowned. “He claims that Chip saved him. Chip, honestly, seemed surprised at the idea that he might have done so.”  
Eggma smiled, and Espio thought he saw a bit of the old glint in Eggman’s eyes. “Well, Chip was an amnesiac last time as well, this we can gather from all sorts of testimony. I doubt Chip understands the truth depth of his powers, or even how to use them. He probably saved Sonic by accident. Sonic would have recognized his powers.”  
Espio nodded. “Once we leave, if we can continue the pace from yesterday, well reach the Shrine in about a day, if the maps you gave me are correct. From there I’m going to use the teleport to send Sonic to Shamar as ordered. I really must express my doubt.”  
Eggman laughed. “Oh, Espio, I do appreciate it, but the contact in Shamar is beyond reproach. His vendetta against Sonic is purely professional and he has as much to lose in all this as anyone else.” Eggman leaned in, blue eyes twinkling . “The beautiful thing about this tragedy is that it has taught us all to put our petty needs aside.”  
Tell that to Shadow, Espio thought.  
“I’m going to go tend to the patient, with your leave, your majesty.”  
“Of course, Espio. Great work, as always. I’ll credit your account. Think I’ve paid off that interest yet?”  
Espio smiled as he ended the transmission. Then he laughed. How could such a monster make him laugh?  


* * *

  
He spent a day and night wandering the temples, looking for the exit.  
Saving the world, smashing robots, turning her away, insulting him. Eating, drinking, laughing; crying, begging, reaching. Shelves of images of his life.  
He stacked his deeds and theirs on the scales of his own arms, of the Earth, Apotos on the left and Eggmanland on the right. For each little white marble of joy in Apotos went a rotting pomegranate of sin into Eggmanland. He felt as though his arm might snap off.  
Chip knocked the scale over, knocked him over, onto his back at rest. He folded Sonic’s long, stretchy arms up into a cross on his chest, an X, X marks the spot, to the ultimate treasure that Dark Gaia could never, ever have.  
“Let me weigh your heart, Sonic.” Chip reached into his chest, pulling out an orb of white light to match his own green. “Let me weigh your heart, and I’ll make it light as a feather. I’ll set you free so you can pass on.”  
“You already had it.”  


* * *

  
He seemed different today. It wasn’t good.  
There was something about Sonic that had always given Chip pause ever since their meeting in Apotos. It was something about his eyes, his eyes when he changed, something about claws and fangs, fire and brimstone. Fire and brimstone? What was brimstone?  
But it was worse today. On one hand, Sonic didn’t seem all that different in any way to which Chip could put a name. He was walking along the Dragon Road, chatting with Espio, smiling. They were talking about old times, times before Chip and Gaia, about a villain named Metal Madness who got the best of Eggman, about a robot named Omega who always wanted to destroy. They spoke of a tournament to find the world’s best fighter, to find the one who’d go up in a rocket, a rocket built by someone called Tails, to stop Eggman. Both men paused a moment.  
“It should have been me,” Sonic confessed. Chip dropped in the air a bit before recovering his altitude. Was the guy they were talking about dead?   
“Could Bean have stopped the ARK from falling?” Espio peered at Sonic without the slightest twitch of his head, only visible to Chip because Chip was flying slightly ahead of him. “Could he have defeated Metal Madness? Could he have reached all the shrines in time? He was an excellent brawler, Sonic, but his skills were different.”He put a hand on the hedgehog’s shoulder. “I’m not going to say it’s fate, but you lived because we needed you. You can’t feel guilty for living when you went on to save lives.”  
“But my life isn’t worth more than his,” decided Sonic, coldly.  
“No more than chopsticks are worth more than diamonds at the dinner table.”   
This gave Sonic pause. He stopped in his tracks.  
“Why Bean, why now, Sonic?” Espio paused too, holding out an arm slightly, reflected along with Sonic on the sea below the cliff. “You still don’t seem well, Sonic. You’re pale, and there’s something about your eyes. They seem… dull.”  
Sonic smiled, seeming almost serene, but the look sent a shiver down Chip’s spine. “The truth is that I don’t feel well at all, but I have too much to do to stop. The feeling has been building for days, but I’ve never had the change be this hard on me, or felt so wonky during the day. So dizzy, and weak, and….” Sonic looked down at the sea. “I feel so small.”  
Chip flew closer to his friend, trying to imagine how someone as tall as Sonic could possibly feel small. As he tried to put himself in his friend’s place, it dawned on him that he didn’t mean size—Sonic felt insignificant. The thought outraged him.  
He stuck himself to Sonic’s arm with four rubbery limbs, clinging as if his life depended on it. “You’re not insignificant, Sonic! You saved the world tons of times and you fixed the emeralds and you’re my friend! You saved me from my amnesia and the bear and from being hungry and alone and scared!” Chip nuzzled Sonic’s shoulder.  
Sonic shifted Chip to his chest and held him close, resting his chin on the top of Chip’s head. “My role is important, Chip, but… I’m just a guy who loves adventure, and being a jerk. I saved the world for fun, not for other people, which is probably why I lost. And all of my selfish desires…  
“What selfish desires?” Chip cried with a laugh. “Liking Amy?” He flew up into Sonic’s face “Wanting food and friends and not to be bullied and yelled at by random people being mean!”  
“Chip—“ Sonic tried to stop him, but Chip just crossed his arms.  
“Life is a bunch of wants. Actually, life is wanting! You ought to give in some time, not beating yourself up over ‘em, just have fun! Just do it!”  
Sonic sat down, putting his legs over the cliff, dangling them. “Chip… I can’t do anything else that’s wrong.”  
The fairy wiped his eyes, trying to fight back the tears he felt. “What did you do wrong in the first place?” Chip sat on Sonic’s knee, looking up into those sad, dull green eyes.  
“I… I failed.”  
“But you tried your best.”  
“Yeah. I did.”  
Chip flew up and slapped Sonic across the face. “Then it’s not wrong, just sad! I think you just want to be the one who did it wrong so you have control!”  
That elicited a gasp from both men, who looked gape-jawed at Chip. Chip didn’t see what was so shocking. It made sense to him, so he continued.  
“Sonic, you make yourself guilty just so you don’t feel helpless. You’re just scared!” He began to sob as he shouted at Sonic, flying shakily in front of his face. ”It’s okay to be scared. I’m so.. . I’m so sorry!” A sob threw Chip downward and he settled down onto Sonic’s knees. It seemed like an eternity before Sonic picked him up, hedgehog flesh almost seeming to burn. Was that because of Dark Gaia making him into the werehog?   
“Why are you sorry?”  
“Because my mistakes did this to you… You, you told me…” Chip shuddered.  
Sonic held him tighter. “No, Eggman’s mistakes did this to us. And I… I’ll bring him to justice.”   
Espio raised an eyebrow at that, sitting next to them on the cliff. “You? Justice? That sounds like something Shadow would say.”  
Sonic knocked a pebble off the cliff with his fingers. “I had a dream, last night.”  
“A fever dream,” noted Espio.  
“Of weighing the sins in my heart against a feather. Like the old Echidna myth. Chip, you were there. You offered to take my sins away. And now I feel like I can… I can see what I did. What others have done. I…”  
Chip frowned, taking Sonic’s hand. “Sonic, I don’t remember much of what I believe but… I know I don’t believe in Justice. All I believe in is you and me. And the safety of Amy’s pancakes.”  
Sonic thought for a moment, and then he started laughing, a hearty laugh. He leaned forward, chuckling.   
“What’s so funny?”  
“I don’t know how he works in the day!” Sonic stood up, holding Chip, still laughing. “But I guess Dark Gaia finally got to me! I’m acting just like Yvon did, all sullen and angsty.” Sonic sat back down, laying in the grass, legs hanging over the edge. Chip was getting dizzy from all that movement, and when Sonic lowered his arms, he took the opportunity to fly out of reach. “Here I thought I was losing my mind, nope! Just possessed. This is awesome! What a relief.”   
“Uh… okay.” Espio raised an eyebrow.  
Then Sonic leaped to his feet, curling up into a ball. Chip screamed in surprise. “WE have a Phoenix to meet and an emerald to fix! Come on, guys! Sooner we get this over, sooner we can be ourselves!  
Sonic zoomed off with a boom, and Chip and Espio exchanged glances.  
“Ever the optimist.” Espio ran after him , and Chip struggled to keep up.  


* * *

  
She pulled the curtains and thanked whatever might be watching over that he wasn’t home.  
It would be too much to explain.  
She clipped the device to her vest and threaded the headphones through it, clipping each bud to her pointed ears. Then she turned on the device and relaxed. The soft, electronic whistle washed over her and she quivered with anticipation. She stretched.  
Then came the pounding of the bass, joined by instrument after instrument, a song far harder than she’d ever have listened to as a girl. She did a lot of things now, though that she’d never have imagined being possible, acceptable. The notes danced around her like raindrops and she began to step, to spin, as if somehow she could shake off the darkness that had come over her.  
She used the chair at the head of the table as a balance, resting her weight on it as she switched onto one leg, onto the ball of her bare foot, her adult body untrained in the magic she’d need to support it all on a single toe. She listened to the guitars weaving in and out of each other, a melody too intricate for her untalented voice and her untrained feet. But that didn’t stop her. She swung her hips with the music, spinning, running across the living room floor, watching the red curtains in the moonlight paint the room around as pink as she was.  
She threw her head back and shuddered at the chorus, the voice shouting at her, screaming, sounding so much like his. Is this what he feels like? Something screaming inside him, trying to get out, dredging up all his issues, all his sorrows with it?  
But which him?  
She ran her fingers through her hair, worming through the air like an arm of Gaia, feet planted firmly on the floor, trying shake it out. The frustration, the desire, the despair, but most of all the anger. An anger she forgot she had, an anger she’d sworn away when she discovered how little it really did. She shuddered all over as she spun, trying not to think it, not to let it set in. Just be, just dance, that’s what it wants.   
She tried to focus on them, on her conflict and her pity and desire, and not to focus on the worst of it. No, what once was the main conflict of her life was now a petty thing, a worthy battle that righteousness and restraint would win, but that would prove to be an agonizing kind of fun in the meantime. She had learned to love suffering; it had become her power.  
But it could have been easier. It could have made more sense, taken its natural course. If only.  
She lifted a foot into the air and spun on her toes, barely cognizant of the cold, slapping impact, the clatter, the crash, the raining sound like tinkling ice even above her music, the warm pain on her leg.  
She picked up a piece of the vase she shattered, red and green on white, covering up the broken stem of one yellow flower out of three. The stylized face of the Emperor stared back at her and she threw the piece to the ground, shattering it into nothingness. Finally she loosened, and she almost thought she could see a little mote of light in the air above her as she shut off her music.  
“Thank goodness this will be over soon. I’m starting to act like the boys.”  
She got out the broom and swept up the vase.  


* * *

  
By the time Chip caught up with them, the fight was on. The grand phoenix, floating there, eaten up by emerald flames, was posturing between attacks in the lush sakura garden. Sonic was throwing barrels of water onto the creature from above as he stood below, powered by some strange glove and an even stranger energy that made Chip sick to sense. Espio, meanwhile, was hiding on the ground, invisible to the eye but not to Chip’s heart, emerging from nothingness when the extinguished bird landed to stab at its legs with a short, shining sword.  
Chip felt sorry for the phoenix, Dark Gaia possessed, not in its own control. Friend to all, otherwise, free to let the fire coarse through its powerful wings, to watch over Chun-nan in all its splendor…  
Lost in half-remembence, Chip was surprised to find the Phoenix flying straight at him, Jaws open wide, sharp beak glinting in the afternoon sun. He could hear Sonic crying his name, his heart beating in his chest, his half-remembered life playing in his ears, he could hear the end coming.  
Then there was a sickening splat, and a great weight on him. There was shouting, another noise, and the cold singing of steel on bone. Chip felt wetness, wondering absently if he had soiled himself.   
Suddenly the purple form rolled off him, Espio clutching a monsterous gash across his stomach. The Phoenix crumbled next to him, crying out, blood running from a foot.   
Sonic stood over the weeping creature, hands shaking, as Espio’s sword fell with a clatter to the stony ground at his side. The phoenix was changing now, its colors darkening, normalizing. Little motes of white light danced around the trio, particularly Sonic, who seemed a magnet for them. Espio lay helpless, clutching his stomach as the thick red life poured out of him.  
Sonic dashed over, putting one hand on Chip tightly, too tightly, the other gently on Espio’s bloodied hands. “Hang in there, Espio,” he soothed. Chip felt the whole world begin to open around him as Sonic reached into the Emeralds. Chip had never paid attention to Chaos Control before, but now he could see it for what it was, but now he was so scared to think of what had happened he had no choice but to pay attention. With the shock of Chaos control they were gone, in the coldness of inbetween, of outside, a place where Chip was nothing and Sonic was god.  
Or was that all in his imagination as they landed at the hospital, on a table surrounded by Chun-nan doctors with their name badges written in intricate script. “Help him, please” was Sonic’s plea, and Chip didn’t understand what had come next, the stitching, the jargon, the broken English. It seemed to relieve Sonic, however, and so back through nothingness he carried Chip, back to the temple, where the phoenix lead them to a shrine.   
Sonic placed the emerald on the altar and collapsed dizzily, begging, “Can I rest now? Just a little while, Amy?”   
At some point, Chip realized, he had grasped Espio’s sword, still longer than he was tall, in his tiny, elven hands.   


* * *

  
Strange, foreign moonlight filtered into the apartment, making the glass at table and high windows over the city glitter rand shine. The young man sat at the kitchen table, leg bouncing and wings flapping to the tune of the song feeding in through his one earbud. The other ear sat exposed, waiting for the cry of the tea kettle or that of his father. He ran a hand across the keyboard, writing about the inefficacies of United Federation foreign relations before the glorious Eggman Revolution and its medical diplomacy. He was really thinking about how much he hated everything about the Eggman Empire, except of course, being rich, but the bull came easily and got Dad Espio off his back.  
When the phone rang he seized on it, eager for some distraction from his stupid homework. Maybe the princess would call him to ask about music or reminisce about old times. Maybe Espio wanted his help in Chun-nan. Maybe Dad Vector’s prescriptions were in. Maybe the no-good Jerkface Emperor wanted his help. Maybe it was a telemarketer. He glanced at the caller identification, and seeing a Chun-nan number he didn’t recognize, immediately picked it up.  
He waited a moment and said “Yes.” He listened again for a while, face falling in horror, and dropped the phone to the table. Then he picked it back up again, listened some more, and walked out of the house sock-footed, locking the door behind him.  
His father came out, massaging his crocodile jaw with his left hand and an ice pack in his right. He walked into the kitchen, looking for the source of the ringing, the noise. Finding Charmy absent and the phone abandoned on the table, Vector muttered about hat ungrateful kid and put the phone back on the charger. He poured himself some tea and went back to bed, arranging purple pillows beside him to be about the right size to support his arm, about the right size to be someone else. 


	6. Missing the Mark

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Sonic's failure against Dark Gaia creates a strange new world.

He took a breath in the stifling heat, and focused.

Sonic looked around him, trying to get a view of the situation. In the distance he could see glistening, glowing eyes of green, seven; one for every emerald. Near him, at his feet and his sides, were the walls of the Gaia Temple of Apotos, shifted sideways and a stark white against the murky inside of the Earth. Between were chunks of rocks Dark Gaia tried to pelt him with, which were mostly hitting Chip—or should he say, Light Gaia—instead, hacking away at his temple armor.

Sonic ran off the edge and closed his eyes, reaching out through the emeralds into the fabric of space. Little bubbles in the world began to appear in his mind, little places where space or gravity or time wavered. He reached into one, leapt into it, shooting himself forward toward the beast's eye. But the end of the little wormhole became apparent, and he dodged left to meet the next one. Another passed and he jumped up, only to find it had really been a foot ahead.

"What? No!" He screamed.

"Sonic!" Chip's voice called from far away.

He felt himself begin to fall, out of momentum and out of wormhole. Fighting panic, he closed his eyes again and tried to get to another bubble in the foam of the universe, but he was falling too fast, and he was too weak. He asked himself what was wrong with himself, why he couldn't chaos control like that time on the ARK, and only just came to the answer that he was exhausted when he felt the heat beginning to sear his flesh. As the burning intensified, he thought of all the people on the surface depending on him, hoping they would save him one more time, and the awful world they'd have to live in if Dark Gaia were allowed to win.

The bubbles in space began to spin around him and he felt himself stop moving. As the orange of his eyelids became black, he heard Chip whisper softly, "Live, Sonic."

* * *

He gently pulled the page from her desk and pulled it close to his face.

"Hey! You give that back, Knuckles!" She shouted, standing.

"Your Highness." He walked away from the desk, his red locks swishing with movement, tracing his eyes over the page.

"I don't make you call me Doctor Rose! And that's personal! I was writing it!"

"What's he going to think when he comes back from the dead and sees how wrong you got this?" Knuckles turned, glancing at her over the paper.

"I'm trying to reconstruct what happened for clues as to how to find him." Dr. Rose stood up. "We know Sonic's friend Chip was Light Gaia, it explains the way he was able to help at the temples. We know the temples all disappeared…"

"But a mech battle? You've been hanging around the Emperor and Dr. Prower way too much." He walked over to her, locking eyes, his face pulling into a gentle grin with teeth just a hint too sharp. Knuckles folded the papers delicately in his gloved hands. Then he took one of Amy's hands and turned it slightly, placing the papers in it.

She looked into his eyes, the world seeming to spin around her as if she were young again. It seemed like it had been so long since anyone had looked her in the eye besides Shadow; was that what Knuckles was getting at? No, Knuckles loved his Queen, and she had half a mind he'd take Sonic over either of them. But there was a look of such light in his eyes, such warmth, that she felt her knees quake, trying not to remember a time when everyone looked like that.

"I miss him so much, Amy," His violet eyes seemed almost to beg her.

"I do too."

"You help me believe he's…" Knuckles gulped. "He's really out there. Saving kids and fighting demons. I just wish he'd tell us."

Amy took Knuckles clawed fingers in her other hand. "And we'll kick his butt for not telling us when we find him. After we hug him to death."

He chuckled and pulled her into a hug, holding her tightly, protectively. "I knew you'd cheer me up. We… We're having a little banquet in the Hidden Palace to celebrate Rouge's successful theft of the last Chaos Emerald. Not the one Eggman's having, a personal one, just old friends. Please bring Shadow and his raisin cookies."

Amy shoved Knuckles away playfully. "So that's what this is about! I'm busy with my research—the projected date when the split was supposed to happen is in a few weeks—but I'll send Shadow. Eggman can make do with a robotic guard for a little while."

* * *

As the music played and the people mingled, he sat on his throne and smiled.

Emperor Ivo Robotnik turned and smiled at his Empress, who smiled back at him, jewels glittering in her long, orange ears. Some of the media had begun to complain about excesses, but the sub-industrial grade diamonds had to go somewhere, didn't they? He'd just shut them down if they kept it up.

"I'm the Emperor," he murmured to himself. "I can do that."

"Do what, father?"

He glanced to his other side, to Princess Cream, who was looking at him with great interest. She had grown up quite nicely, he thought, much like her mother, though she refused any gems for her long ears. He respected that; he was sure that she would eventually use her frugality and reputation to depose him. She looked at him with inquisitive orange eyes, an almost sneering arrogance in them that both sickened and impressed him. One side of her face curled up on itself, a grin.

His bodyguard, standing nearby, wrinkled up his little brow and crossed his thick arms, clawtips tracing one of his red stripes like they were a wound.

"This!" he announced, standing. "Ladies and Gentlemen, now that we've all had something to eat, why don't we check out my latest invention!" He hopped down from his throne. "My latest Dark Gaia suppressor model is nearly complete, and now has an effective range of a mile!"

He saw Cream roll her eyes, and silently invited her to do a better job.

* * *

He stood on the hill waiting.

It was Reunion Day, the day Holoska rejoined the rest of the planet and the cracks disappeared. He couldn't be sure why they celebrated it, given that the world all but a few days later, but he couldn't fault them. Always need a reason to celebrate, he decided. Even when things are bad, even when they can't get worse and then they do, people need to look on the bright side. Just smile, or something.

He tried to smile and scratched his lip.

"I've had ten years to get used to these teeth," he scolded himself.

He got down on all fours and waited, watching, reflecting on the time past. Wondering about people he knew, even though he heard about most of them on the news. All but the one he needed. The one who could tell him what happened…

Then he saw what he had been waiting for. A little shape sliding down the hill, straight toward the road below. Every year it happened, and every year at least one of them was hit or hurt or killed. It had happened before Dark Gaia came, of course, but less often, and less deaths then. But there would be none this year.

He bolted down the hill, pulling himself with his arms and pushing with his legs. He began to slide toward the bottom and reached out one arm, stretching until he caught hold of the lanky boy, who looked at him with indignation, unnatural violet color to eyes that should have been brown—his parents' were. As they neared the highway, the cloaked figure reached his other arm, extending it by double to reach the cliff above. He pulled his arm in, pushed the boy onto the cliff, and climbed up after him.

"I won't always be there to save you."

The little man in the cloak turned and walked away.


End file.
